Maharashtra Minister asks state utility to add 2,000-MW unit near Mumbai

In the aftermath of the massive power outage in the financial capital, Maharashtra energy minister asked state-run power generation firm to add gas-based capacity of up to 2,000 MW in vicinity of city

In the aftermath of the massive power outage in the financial capital, Maharashtra energy minister Nitin Raut on Thursday asked state-run power generation company to add gas-based capacity of up to 2,000 MW in the vicinity of the city.

Adding the capacity at the Uran Gas Turbine Power Station (GTPS) by the Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (Mahagenco) can ensure in the effective operation of the islanding system in the city in the event of a grid failure, the minister said.

It can be noted that following the outage, experts have rued the lack of sufficient capacity within Mumbai or nearby areas which can make the islanding system, wherein the city gets detached from the rest of the state, work in case of a grid failure. According to experts, power requirements have grown in the city over the past decade since the system was last reviewed.

On a visit to the Uran GTPS, Raut suggested adding other unit having a capacity of 1,000-2,000 MW at the facility, which can start generating power within seconds in the event of a grid collapse, as per an official statement.

The minister asked the Mahagenco to submit detailed project report at the earliest for approval which could be completed in a span of two years, it said, adding cost of power is cheaper and the source is eco-friendly as well.

GTPS' installed capacity is 672 MW and the facility is now generating 350 MW at present, as per the statement.

At present, the peak hour power demand of Mumbai is 2,800 MW which is estimated to reach 5,000 MW by 2030, as per the statement.

As against this, the existing power generation in Mumbai is around 1,300 MW by Tata power and 500 MW from Dahanu Project which is not enough to support the island system during grid failure, it said.

It can be noted that the state-run transmission utility has blamed the delay in Tata Power starting to generate power from its units as among the reasons for the collapse of the grid on October 12, which had severely inconvenienced the citizens as power supply was shut for up to 14 hours in some pockets.