Voice of Electricity Workers April-June 2002 Index
SHORT REPORTS ABOUT POWER CRISIS
MADHYA PRADESH
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh has said that the unscheduled power
cuts can be a regular affair at divisional and district headquarters.
The
demand in the state on Saturday evening was 4,500mw, while the power
availability was 3,425mw. All the tehsil and district headquarters were gripped
by darkness. Singh said there are multiple reasons for the crisis. The demand
and supply gap has gone up to 1,700mw, the availability through all resources is
not more than 3,425mw. The demand is at 5,000mw.
The urban areas of the
state would also have to face unscheduled power cuts. "The length of the crisis
depends upon the restarting of the National Thermal Power Corporation's western
grid."
The reservoirs in hydel power units have less than normal storage of
water and hence most of them are producing less power.
The crisis is
expected to continue till new projects start generating power. Work on 2,700 mw
of generation is underway and will be completed by 2005.
These include the
1,000 mw Indira Sagar project, the 500 mw Omkareshwar project, the 400 mw
Maheshwar project, 500 mw Birsinghpur project, the 200 mw Amarkantak project and
the 60 mw Mahrikhera project.
The reform process in transmission and
distribution with the financial assistance from Asian Development Corporation.
The Indira Sagar power project is being installed and commissioned by Narmada
Hydropower Development Corporation - a joint venture between National
Hydroelectric Power Corporation and Madhya Pradesh Government.
KARNATAKA
Karnataka is facing its worst power crisis in decades and needs at least 1,000
mw more immediately to tide over the shortage. And the state government's
decision to stop extending escrow cover for projects is keeping independent
power producers away.
Currently, Indai's silicon valley, Bangalore,
undergoes around 4 hours of power cut daily, while the rest of the state
undergoes power cuts of up to 10 hours.
With the power crisis turning worse,
the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (KPTCL) has asked the
government that it should resort to 12- hour power cuts daily if the power has
to last for the whole of summer.
DELHI
Almost all areas of the
Capital are experiencing varying degrees of power cuts. With the annual exams of
the Delhi University on, students are a harried lot. Mr Abhinav Madhwal, A BA
(Pass) third year student residing in Munirka said, "With persistent and
irregular power cuts the worst sufferers are the students. At the time of CBSE
exams, the DVB ensures that there are no power cuts, but who will take up the
case of university students. As Munirka has been completely commercialized, the
demand for electricity is never ending,: he said.
Mr Alok Tripathi, a B Com
second year student residing in RK Puram said, "Even during exams, we are not
able to study in peace because of the electricity problem. When we try to
register a complaint, telephone lines of the DVB complaint centre are usually
busy."
Apart from students, businessmen are also facing problems.
Mr.
Jain talwar, a mobile oil dealer in Karol Bagh, said, "The area has experienced
persistent power shortage. It is the same old story, every year in the summers
we face a power shortage, our business also suffers."
A resident of village
Nangli Sarkawati, Najafgarh, Mr Ram Ratan, said, "We have three to four hour
power cuts daily between 7 p.m. TO 11 P.M. It is difficult to cope with the
situating without fans and coolers when the temperature is so high."
Mr S
Kaushal, resident of C Block, South Extension-I said, "We have a two to three
hour power cut daily, without any schedule. We pay the bills regularly, so we
should get uninterrupted power supply."
RAJASTHAN
Several
small-scale industrial units have closed in Rajasthan last year because of the
high power tariff.
"Over 66,000 small and tiny sector units of the 350,000
have downed shutters because of the power tariff hike and lack of financial
support." Said Prem Biyani, general secretary 9SSI cell) of the Rajasthan
Pradesh Congress Committee.
Talking to reporters here today, he said the
state government should take steps for protecting and boosting investment in the
SSI sector.
"We have asked the government to reduce the power tariff during
non-peak hours."
GUJARAT
After the Dabhol-MSEB tangle, the
spotlight now is on Hong Kong-based China Light & Power's (CLP) 655 mw Pagathuan
project following the Gujarat Electricity Board (GEB) decision to suspend
purchases from the IPP since October last on account of high cost.
Confirming this, sources in GEB said that they had "completely discontinued
purchases from CLP's Pagathuan plant since October as the cost of the
naphtha-based power being produced by this plant is substantially higher than
that produced by other IPPs, namely the state owned Gujarat Industries Power
Corporation Ltd (GIPCL) and the Hazira-based Essar Power."
A high-level team
from CLP is now expected to visit the State soon to resolve this impasse.
According to GEB sources, while the cost of power supplied by GIPCL and Essar
Power works out to around Rs.2.50/unit, the cost of a unit of power from CLP's
Rs. 2,200 crore Pagathuan plant would work out to around Rs.3.50/unit.
In
fact, GEB is willing to cough up fixed charges under the power purchase
agreement signed with the Pagathuan plant which would work out to around
Rs.80-90 crore rather than buy the expensive power.
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