The state-owned power trader Gridco has asked the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) to give temporary consent to the third power generating unit of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL), which in turn, will provide power to the state grid to tide over the severe power crisis in the state.
“Since the state is facing severe power crisis at present, the proposal of Gridco to issue conditional/provisional ‘consent to operate’ the third captive power unit of JSPL pending completion of departmental formalities for the same at least for a period of three months may be considered,” said the government proposal forwarded to the pollution control body.
The third unit of JSPL has a capacity of 135 Mw. Meanwhile, a senior Gridco official confirmed that this unit of JSPL unit has already started supplying power to the state grid. Gridco at present is getting 30 MW from the third unit, along with 230 MW from other two units of JSPL.
Of late, Gridco has been scouting for power within and outside the state given the high summer demand and low generation. It is currently drawing about 850 MW from captive power plants of various industries based in the state.
“The average power demand has gone up to 2,800 MW against OERC (Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission) projection of 2,635 MW. Hence we have to rely upon these (captive power plants) sources to meet the necessity," said P K Pradhan, commercial director, Gridco.
He blamed lower hydro power generation and technical fault in thermal power units for the widening power deficit even as large number of people, particularly in rural areas, reel under unscheduled power cuts amidst soaring temperature at different places.
“Earlier we used to get about 210 MW of hydro power from all our hydro power plants, but now it has come down to 100 MW as the water levels in all the reservoirs have reached critical level. Similarly, We are getting 100 MW less from Kaniha unit of NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation) due to coal problems there,” Pradhan explained.
Gridco is currently getting about 2,750 MW power from all sources, which leaves it still short of about 50-100 MW on an average. To meet the deficit, the cash-strapped power trader either resorts to over drawing of electricity at astronomical costs or power cuts in peak hours, he added.
Orissa has been grappling with power shortage since November 2011. To meet the summer power need of the state, Gridco had finalised agreements with Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) to provide 200 MW for a month via power banking, which ended on May 1. It was earlier buying power from the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), but has stopped doing so citing higher power cost at national market.
