Pune may face load shedding due to Telangana stir
News — By The Desk on September 27, 2011 at 11:24 AM
Times of India: The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) will enforce load shedding for twoand-a-half to five-and-a-half hours in the entire state owing to a 2,500 MW shortfall in power availability. The shortfall is because of the disruption in the supply of coal to thermal power stations due to the ongoing Telangana agitation.
While power company officials told TOI there was no immediate plan to start load shedding in Pune city, the rural areas of Pune would be affected. “However, if the situation gets worse, even Pune city will have some load shedding,” an official said.
A statement issued by MSEDCL on Monday said that there was a shortfall of 1,500 MW in Maharashtra’s power share from the central sector because of the Telangana stir and a technical fault at the Korba power plant.
“To make matters worse, power generation from the Parali, Koradi and Chandrapur thermal power stations has gone down by 1,000 MW. We have to enforce load shedding temporarily,” the statement said.
The distribution company has bought 800 to 1,000 MW power from the open market. The Koyna hydro power station has been asked to generate additional power during peak hours. Efforts are also on to procure power from other sources in the country, the statement said.
MSEDCL gets 3,500 MW from the central quota. However, the technical fault at the Korba plant has reduced its generation by 2,000 MW, bringing down Maharashtra’s share by 700 MW. The Telangana stir has affected coal supply to the thermal power stations of the National Thermal Power Corporation as well, the statement said. The company has said that the load-shedding measures being enforced are temporary.
Once the situation improves, power cuts will be withdrawn.
