The Hindu : New Delhi News : Winter still away but power cuts here to stay

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 23, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Winter still away but power cuts here to stay

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, NOV. 22. Though real winter is yet to set in, indications are that things will be far from rosy for the Capital's citizens in the months to come. Yes, the Government has warned that the power situation will be grim between mid-December and January, but large parts of the Capital are already being subjected to long hours of power cuts and load shedding.

Although the maximum demand for power on Monday stood at 2,449 MW, much below the Delhi Government's anticipated power load to deal with the demand this winter, the authorities undertook load shedding to the tune of 247 MW. According to Delhi Transco officials, low frequency in the Northern Grid and a fall in hydro-power generation in the hill States in the region had contributed to the present situation.

The worst affected areas on Monday were East Delhi and Outer Delhi where power cuts ranged from 30 minutes to four hours. "This was done to maintain frequency and prevent tripping of the system," said officials.

Surprisingly, all the claims by the Delhi Government claims of having prepared itself for the coming season have come a cropper. The power demand is still hovering around 2,500 MW, which is normal for this part of the season. Seasoned Delhiites recalled that the Delhi Government had claimed having prepared a road map for making available nearly 3,200 MW of electricity during this winter. However, officials are now citing various reasons for the low availability of power.

The argument that low rainfall in the hill States had badly affected power generation does not hold as it is well known that after October the higher reaches in the hill States of Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal are covered with snow. This results in a low flow of water to the dams leading to low power generation. ``The hill States find it extremely difficult to fulfil their own demand during the winter months lasting till March. It is wrong to put forward the argument that power shortage is due to fall in supply from these States,'' a senior official admitted.

The areas most affected by the unscheduled power cuts and load shedding on Monday were Gandhi Nagar, GTB Enclave, Ghonda, Nand Nagri, Karawal Nagar, Seelampur, Dilshad Garden, parts of Shahdara, Trilokpuri, Kalayanpuri, Mayur Vihar and Vasundara Enclave, all in East Delhi. The areas affected in Outer Delhi were Papankalan, Tilak Nagar, Vikaspuri, Uttam Nagar, Najafgarh, Sagarpur, Nangloi, Matiala, Devli, Sangam Vihar, Rohini, Pitampura, Keshav Puram, Rajdhani Envlace, Model Town, Shalimar Bagh and New Subzi Mandi Azadpur.

In fact, consumers in Shalimar Bagh alleged that power cuts ranged from three hours to ten hours.

The Walled City areas like Lajpat Rai Market, Chandni Mahal, Nai Sadak, Lal Kuan and Jama Masjid also suffered power cuts.

For his part, Power Minister Haroon Yusuf maintained that the situation was not bad at all, adding that some areas had been subjected to load shedding to prevent the system from total collapse. "The Delhi Government is already holding talks with the Power Trading Corporation for purchase of power from southern States including Andhra Pradesh. We are aware of the problem and are taking remedial measures. The people should also cooperate with the Government and ensure maximum saving of power so that things remain under control,'' he added.

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