The people in Orissa would have to grapple with power cuts and the 50 per cent load restriction on the industrial users would continue despite the state getting an additional 270 MW of power from the Central pool.
National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) has given a written commitment to pump 270 MW of power to the state grid from Saturday. This is over and above the 50 MW which the state grid got from the Central pool on Friday.
This apart, Vedanta Aluminium has also assured the state government to supply 200 MW of power from its captive power plant very soon.
With the average power demand in Orissa being 2900 Mw in peak hours and 2300Mw in the non-peak hours, the state was experiencing a deficit of about 300-400 MW every day. To tide over the situation, power distribution companies were resorting to rotational load shedding.
Keeping in view the acute power crisis in the state, Naveen Patnaik, the Orissa chief minister on Saturday conducted a review meeting to take stock of the situation. At the review meeting, the chief minister said the power deficit situation in the state needs to be monitored very closely on a daily basis.
Concerned over the massive power cuts in the rural areas, Patniak asked the state energy department to ensure that these areas are not discriminated as far as power regulation is concerned. He further said the indiscriminate load shedding in the rural areas was impacting irrigation.
The chief minister instructed the state energy department to keep a close a keep a close vigil on the timing of power regulation by the distribution companies in the state.
During the meeting, the chief minister was apprised on the alleged non-cooperation of Mahanadi Coalfields in supplying coal to the major thermal power stations in the state, thereby resulting in low generation.
Earlier, Patnaik had requested the Centre to supply 500 MW of power from Orissa’s unallocated share of the Central pool to tide over the power crisis. The 50 per cent load restriction to the industrial users would continue, Atanu Sabyasachi, the state energy minister told media persons after the review meeting.
