Jharkhand to hike power capacity

The power utility has approved a budget of Rs 1,063 crore for renovation and modernisation of PTPS.

JSEB has been struggling for more than a year to cope with the rising demand for power in the state, which has reached around 1,100 megawatt (Mw) a day.

The PTPS unit was at present generating only 40Mw to 100Mw daily.

The coal-rich Jharkhand state government and its power utilities have failed to set up any new power plant in the state since its inception, although the state has been facing an acute shortage of electricity both in urban and rural areas and across domestic and industrial segments.

Jharkhand was formerly a part of the undivided Bihar state.

At the time of the division of Bihar into Bihar and Jharkhand, the latter inherited only one operating thermal power plant located in the state, PTPS. The plant was set up with Russian design and technology.

The power generation machinery installed at PTPS has become obsolete and need to be modernised urgently, state government sources told Business Standard.

In keeping with its plan to raise generation to meet demand, JSEB has decided to invest in fresh power generation capacity, the source indicated.

A second unit "" the Sikidiri hydro-electricity power plant - has been contributing between 50Mw to 120 Mw daily in the evening peak demand hours but generation was dependent on the water level in the reservoir.

A third power generating unit, the Tenughat Vidyut Nigam Ltd (TVNL), was set up by the Bihar government and was producing 140Mw-190 Mw on average.

To meet demand, JSEB was drawing over 200Mw from the central pool through the eastern grid.

JSEB was also having to purchase about 300Mw from the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC).

Power demand in the state was expected to rise sharply following the introduction of the sponsored central scheme under the 'Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikkaran Yojana' as it was expected to lead to a quantum jump in the number of connections provided in the rural areas of Jharkhand.

Around 90 per cent of the villages in the state do not have access to electricity at present.

The new central scheme, applicable to 12 states, has set a target of providing electricity connections to 1.25 lakh villages and 7.8 crore rural households located in these population clusters within the next five years.