Orissa to get 300 Mw from NTPC to tide over power crisis

Orissa, reeling under acute shortage of power, has got temporary relief with the state owned generator National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) agreeing to supply additional 300 Mw to the state.

Out of the promised quantity, 100 Mw is expected to flow into the state grid tonight.

The Union power minister Sisil Kumar Sindhe had instructed NTPC to provide 300 Mw to Orissa from the 15 percent un-allocated share of the eastern zone pool. The arrangement will remain effective till 4 July.The minister’s instruction follows the discussion with him by the state energy minister Atanu Sabyasachi and the senior officials of the state energy department in New Delhi yesterday.

Starting with 100 Mw tonight, the supply from NTPC will be stepped up to 300 Mw by tomorrow. However, the State Load Despatch Centre (SLDC) had not received the promised power till late in the evening.

Sources said, the total hydro electricity generation in the state was 340 Mw on Tuesday against the installed capacity of 2085 Mw. Similarly, thermal power availability from the state’s own power plants was 530 Mw against the total installed capacity of 880 Mw. The drawal from the central pool was about 900 Mw, with the overdrawal being about 100 Mw. Since the price of the overdrawn power depends on the frequency, the state has to pay a hefty amount for this power. At times, it even costs more than Rs 10 per unit, sources said.

With the average demand being 2900 Mw in peak hours and 2300Mw in non-peak hours, the state is experiencing a deficit of about 300 Mw to 400 Mw every day. To tide over the situation, power distribution companies are resorting to rotational load shedding.

Today, the availability of power in the state was 2117 Mw with the demand being a little higher. “The situation is expected to improve after we get 300 Mw from NTPC,” senior official of the state energy department said.

It may be noted, the Captive Generating Plants (CGPs) have been injecting about 380 Mw to the state grid. This includes 120 Mw by the Jindal Stainless Ltd (JSL), 105 Mw by Nalco and 40 Mw by Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (VAL).

Sources said, the water levels in all the reservoirs of the state have gone down below the minimum draw down level (MDDL), severely impacting the hydro power generation.

Facing acute shortage of power, the Orissa government has already directed the State Load Despatch Centre (SLDC) to effect 50 percent load restriction on industrial users.