Mumbai may escape power cuts

Mumbai may escape power cuts this summer as Reliance Energy Ltd and Tata Power Ltd have agreed to buy electricity to meet the soaring demand, a Reliance Energy official said.

Mumbai faces a shortage of 700 Mw, or about 25 percent of demand, in the next three months, said Lalit Jalan, director of Reliance Energy, the city's main supplier. Reliance, Tata and the state utility will purchase power from other states, he said, without elaborating.

"We met the minister last evening and arranged supplies,"' Jalan said in a phone interview yesterday. "This summer there is no probability of a power cut in Mumbai."

Mumbai's 16 million inhabitants are using record disposable income and easier credit terms to pay for air-conditioners and refrigerators. A shortage of 201Mw two years ago prompted the government to ask offices and households to cut power usage and switch off neon signs.

Officials from Reliance Energy, Tata Power and Bombay Electricity Supply & Transport Undertaking met Maharashtra's minister for energy, Dilip Valse Patil, in Mumbai on March 25, Jalan said.