At a time when economic activities were starting to recover after months of COVID-related lockdown, the Maharashtra government has decided to temporarily cut power supply in some parts of the state to tide over the current power crisis. Power demand in the country is expected to increase even more in the coming weeks as weather officials have predicted above-normal temperatures in many northern and central regions in April.
Industrialized states such as Gujarat and Maharashtra have resorted to load shedding, officials told Reuters, with government data showing power deficits in eastern states such as Jharkhand and Bihar and Haryana and Uttarakhand in the north at more than 3 per cent.
electricity demand in maharashtra
“Load shedding”, which includes mandatory power cuts in select areas, will be carried out in both urban and rural areas, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company said in a statement on April 11. It said that the increasing demand for electricity and shortage of coal has resulted in a shortage of 2,500-3,000 MW of power. To bridge the same, MSEDCL will resort to load shedding as per the guidelines laid down by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission.
However, it did not specify any other details on the areas where the power cut would be experienced or its duration.
The state, which otherwise prides itself on being the most progressive and home of industry, was notorious for load shedding until a few years back. A large part of the country’s financial capital does not fall under the service sector of MSEDCL, and those pockets were excluded from load shedding in previous instances.
The MSEDCL statement said that there is a record demand of more than 28,000 MW of power, which is about 4,000 MW more than last year. The MSEDCL demand alone has reached 24,800 MW and the night demand has also reached 23,000 MW.
MSEDCL has contracted 37,900 MW of power, of which 33,700 MW is installed capacity and 62 per cent of this comes from coal-fired thermal power plants, the statement said. However, due to the countrywide shortage of coal, there is a shortfall in production from contract thermal power plants, reflecting a shortfall of 6,000 MW from coal plants alone.
Efforts are on to get power from alternative sources on a war footing, including 673 MW from NTPC, 760 MW from CGPL by June 25, out of which 410 MW by Tuesday midnight. “We urge consumers to cooperate and use less electricity in these difficult times,” the statement appealed.
According to a notice issued by MSEDCL on March 31, reviewed by S&P Global, the state has decided to temporarily curtail power supply to areas of agricultural power consumers in the state.
These cities will not be affected by load shedding
According to MSEDCL, Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai will not be affected by load shedding.
Citing officials, the Times of India reported on Monday that the firm will not do load shedding in Bhandup-Mulund, Thane and Navi Mumbai as these areas have less power distribution losses and better recovery of bill payments than other areas.
“We will do load shedding in areas where there is high theft of electricity, loss of power distribution and poor recovery of bill payments. These include G1, G2 and G3 category consumers, mostly near Kalyan areas in the Mumbai metropolitan area,” said a senior TOI official.
Steps being taken to deal with it
Power consumption in Maharashtra has increased by 10 per cent to reach a peak of 28,000 MW, but the state is maintaining regular supply and is planning to buy 760 MW from Gujarat at higher rates, Minister of State Prajakat Tanpure said on Monday. The state was procuring power at an average price of Rs 8 per unit and will continue to do so to provide relief to the people amid the scorching heat.
Coal secretary Anil Kumar Jain was quoted by news agency PTI as saying that “coal allocation is a golden opportunity to increase coal production as the price of imported coal is very high and the demand for thermal coal will increase with the increase in power demand in the country.”
Political attack on Maharashtra government
Union Minister Raosaheb Danve has said that lack of planning by the Maharashtra government has resulted in shortage of coal in the state and consequently power shortage. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the Minister of State for Railways, Coal and Mines accused the state government of not storing enough coal, leading to power shortage.
“The MVA is making a ruckus about the shortage of coal. Had the state government prepared the plan in advance, it would not have faced power shortage.”
“80 per cent coal is produced in the country and 20 per cent is imported by power companies. Though Maharashtra owes the Center Rs 3,000 crore for coal procurement, we have never denied providing resources.
The state government should have made provisions for storage of coal. He said that it is not the responsibility of the Center to provide electricity, it is the responsibility of the State Government to provide electricity to the farmers and industrialists. Danve said that the state government should buy power from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
(with inputs from agencies)
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