Power crisis hits Chhattisgarh

Power surplus Chhattisgarh has plunged into crisis as a few units of the state-run company have developed snags that severely hit production.

The state, which has been normally surplus by 400-500 Mw of power, is now facing a power deficit of about 1,350 Mw. The total demand of power in the state is around 2,400 Mw during peak time.

According to officials with state-run Chhattisgarh Power Generation Company Limited (CPGCL), three units of the company in Korba had developed technical snags. The power production in these three units had come to a halt. These units were producing about 610 Mw.

The company was getting power from Jindal Steel and Power Limited, Vedanta-controlled Bharat Aluminium Company Limited and NSPCL—a joint venture of Steel National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Authority of India Limited (SAIL).

Unfortunately, production in these units had also came to a halt because of annual maintenance and technical problems.

“The sudden breakdown in the units had increased the demand of power in the state and the company was under pressure to meet it,” CPGCL Managing Director V K Shrivastava said. Efforts are on to meet the demand through power exchange, he said, adding that some solution to the problem would be found soon.

The state that had been credited for zero power cut had not plunged into such serious crises in last five to six years as it always had power in surplus. The company has now divided the state in four parts and started load-shedding to maintain the gap between demand and supply.