South India to be worst affected by power shortages: CEA

Demand for electricity in the South likely to be 44,670 MW, of which 33,001 MW will be available

South India will face the worst electricity shortages in the current financial year, with a 26% power supply deficit predicted in the region, according to a report by the sector's planning body.

The southern states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and the Union territory of Puducherry will witness an electricity deficit of 26.1%, or 11,669 MW, during 2013-14, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) said in a report.

Demand for electricity in the South is likely to be 44,670 MW, of which 33,001 MW will be available.

Tamil Nadu will be worst hit with a deficit of 34.1%. The state's demand is estimated to be 14,970 MW as against supply of 9,871 MW, the CEA data stated.

While fuel scarcity, poor financial health of distribution companies and transmission losses have contributed to electricity shortages in the country, the reason for the demand-supply gap in the region may be because the southern transmission grid is yet to be synchronised with the national grid.

On the other hand, the Eastern states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal are likely to witness a power surplus.

The region's requirement for 2013-14 is 18,257 MW compared with availability of 19,700 MW, a surplus of 1,443 MW or 7.9%. Power production in the region is set to increase with new thermal plants expected to come up in Bihar and Jharkhand.

Sikkim is estimated to have a surplus of 30%, with supply for the state likely to be 163 MW as against demand of 125 MW, the data showed.

The Western region, which includes Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, may have a surplus of 2,934 MW, or 6.8%, against its requirement of 43,456 MW.

The estimated excess power in Madhya Pradesh will be over 20%, or 1,939 MW, as per the data.

Apart from the south, other regions facing a power shortage include the Northeast (Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Tripura), with an estimated deficit of 10%.

The Northern region comprising Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand is likely to have deficit of 1.3%.