Power crisis deepens

BHUBANESWAR: Even as the State continues to reel under power crisis, the Centre is yet to respond to the Government’s request for allocation of an additional 500 MW from  Talcher Super Thermal Power Station (TSTPS), Stage-II, Kaniha, to meet the deficit.With mercury rising in many parts of the State, the demand for power is also increasing. While the average power demand of the State is about 3,500 MW, only 2,700 MW is available leaving a gap of 800 MW.Even after resorting to load restriction to manage the deficit, the State is drawing more power than the actual schedule from the eastern grid.The average overdrawal from the Central pool is more than 200 MW. The overdrawal is possible because of the better grid frequency in the eastern grid, sources said.Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had written to Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, in the first week of December last year, requesting an additional allocation of 500 MW from the TSTPS stage-II. The national power major had earlier offered the State 500 MW from the stage-II thermal power station, but the latter had declined the offer as it was power surplus then.  Power deficit has seriously affected industrial production, agricultural operation and defeated the massive rural electrification programme under the flagship Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutkaran Yojana (RGGVY).Around 11 lakh BPL households in 45,000 villages and habitations have already been electrified. Further, 23 lakh households in 50,000 villages and habitations will be provided electricity connections soon under these two schemes.The power crisis of the State is mostly due to the low reservoir level in some of the State’s hydel projects in the southern region. The erratic and low rainfall in the region has triggered the crisis.There is drastic fall in the hydro power availability due to regulation in the release of water from the reservoir by the Water Resources Department. About 250 to 300 MW hydro power is available as against the normal 1,000 MW.Besides, one of the two units (second) of the State-run Ib Thermal Power Station at Banharpali in Jharsuguda district is shut down for annual maintenance. The second unit will be made operational on March 10, official sources said.The first unit of the power station went out of the grid for a couple of days recently due to a technical snag deepening the crisis further.