Mumbai likely to escape power cuts

After much wrangling over whether or not Mumbai will face power cuts, it seems the city may escape facing the crisis this summer. Power utilities have assured the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) about tying up extra power supply till the beginning of June, needed to overcome the spurt in demand.

It may be recalled that the state government had earlier refused to allow Tata Power Co (TPC) and Reliance Energy (REL) to overdraw power from the state grid to meet the shortfall of around 400 mw for Mumbai.

The power regulator had asked both the companies to submit their contingency plan for power cuts in the city by today, in case they fail to meet the demand.

It has been reliably learnt that TPC has assured the power regulator about tying up for 520 mw till June, sufficient to overcome the current shortfall of around 400 mw.

TPC is the bulk power supplier for BEST and REL, who are power distributors in the island city and suburbs, respectively. TPC and REL supply 1,770 mw and 500 mw to the city, respectively.

During a hearing on the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co Ltd's (MSEDCL) petition to increase load shedding hours in industrial parks (from one to two days) and in urban areas (except Mumbai) by one hour, MERC Chairman Pramod Deo came down heavily on MSEDCL and Western Region Load Dispatch Centre for not providing accurate and enough data to make the fresh plea. "Because of inadequate data provided, it has become impossible to manage the present crisis," he observed.

He sought to know, what dramatic changes have taken place since MERC's last order on February 28, for fresh demand for load shedding.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Industry Minister Ashok Chavan has admitted that a huge power shortage of around 6,000 mw and inconsistent power supply to industries are taking its toll on the state's industry-friendly image.

He was speaking at a meeting called by the energy and industry ministries with industry representatives to discuss the issue of introducing an additional day of power cut in industrial areas. Apart from Chavan, Energy Minister Dileep Walse-Patil and senior officials from both the ministries attended the meeting.

Hemant Rathi, chairman of the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA), said, "Around 1,200 mw of captive power capacity is available with the industry, mostly diesel-based. But industry can't utilise it unless the state provides direct subsidy, concession in excise duty and VAT on diesel as cost of power produced by captive power plants varies between Rs 8 and 12 per unit."

This suggestion was seconded by various other industry associations. Other suggestions included power cuts for 32 hours continuously instead of 16 hours on two days, which will help industry in deploying labour and other resources more productively.