Power deficit in Odisha may extend till June

Peak power shortfall in the state is likely to continue in the state till June next year as water level at major reservoirs is unlikely to pick up adequately till the arrival of next monsoons.

"We are facing a power shortfall of 500 Mw due to drastic fall in hydro power generation. Instead of the usual 2,085 MW, we are now getting no more than 1750 MW of hydro power because of falling reservoir levels triggered by deficient rainfall. We have no choice but to persist with power cuts till next June", said energy minister Pranab Prakash Das.

Peak power demand in the state is hovering around 4,000 Mw. While the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack are experiencing one hour of power cut every day, the situation is even worse in rural areas.

Central Electricity Supply Utility of Odisha Ltd (Cesu), a discom catering to power distribution in coastal and parts of north Odisha, has already announced its plan to go for a phase wise power restriction from 6 am to 11 pm. Cesu distributes electricity to about

two million electricity customers in nine districts- Cuttack , Jagatsinghpur , Kendrapara , (part of) Jajpur , Puri , Nayagarh, Khurda, Dhenkanal and Angul.

The shortfall has been prompted by shutdown of three units of NTPC's Talcher Thermal station and one unit of its super thermal power station at Kaniha on maintenance grounds.

During peak hours, hydro power meets 1,389 Mw of the demand while IPPs and CGPs together offer 800-900 Mw. The Talcher Thermal unit of NTPC usually provides 427 Mw power to the state grid.

The state government was looking to plug the power deficit by banking on surplus power from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and Captive Generating Plants (CGPs).