UP Power Corp feeling heat of rising mercury

Peak hour demand shoots past 12,000 Mw

Uttar Pradesh power mandarins have begun to feel the heat of the rising mercury level in the state with peak hour electricity demand shooting past 12,000 Mw.

Against this heightened demand, UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) has been able to manage around 10,000 Mw leaving a gap of 2,000 Mw.

The state has been witness to sudden rise in temperatures in the past couple of days with mercury reaching 38 degree Celsius in the first week of April itself.

As days advance, the mercury will continue to rise putting additional pressure on UPPCL for getting more power.

Currently, the total thermal power generation in the state stands at 2,700 Mw, hydro power generation provides around 400 Mw while the private sector generation (including Anpara C and Reliance Power’s Rosa project) is 1,200 Mw. The prevailing coal shortage has also affected production at some thermal power plants.

Besides, the state gets around 4,000 Mw from the central sector, while the remaining 1,000 Mw is purchased from energy exchanges.

According to sources, the power demand will touch 13,500 Mw in the coming months when there would be a scramble among all the states to get more electricity for their consumers. This would leave little surplus energy at national level for purchase and during that period, the total demand-supply gap is likely to touch 3,000 Mw.

The average supply in UP villages is 10 hours/day; at district level, it is less than 18 hours/day. The industrial areas in the state are, however, getting 24-hour supply while major towns have been getting over 22-hour power.

The Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi government had already directed the UPPCL for uninterrupted power supply in villages till April 20 in the evening hours in view of the ongoing UP Board examinations.