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M.P. may face powerless summer

BHOPAL, APRIL 11 . Power-strapped Madhya Pradesh is bracing for a gruelling summer with the Centre and other states refusing electricity even at thrice the normal rate and reservoirs in the state beginning to dry up causing sharp fall in hydel generation. The power problem, which led to Congress rout in the assembly polls held 16 months ago, has been compounded due to sudden fall in availability by 1100 mw in a past fortnight following closure of many units in hydel and thermal power plants and stoppage of supply from outside the state. Further worsening the scenario are the worn-out and obsolete power generation plants with many of their fragile units collapsing frequently while the new projects in the pipeline are going to take time to be commissioned. With the gap between demand and supply of electricity widening to 2,000 mw, Chief Minister Babu Lal Gaur says ``electricity is not available even on offering three times the rate in normal circumstances as all outside sources are also finding it tough to meet their own demands''. Even the Centre expressed its inability to provide extra electricity. As Gaur puts it, ``when I complained about the hardship faced by us after the Centre cut 143 mw from our allotment and sought more electricity, the Union Power Minister, P.M. Sayeed, said it is not possible to meet our demand''.

The Centre, on the other hand, asked Madhya Pradesh government to check power thefts with a firm hand. Officials of Madhya Pradesh State Electricity Board (MPSEB) as also the Chief Minister are of the view that pilferage of electricity is a ``chronic problem'' which cannot be stopped overnight. While striving to grapple with the crisis, the state government has also raised the issue of exorbitant rates charged by private power production units from where it is forced to purchase electricity to meet its immediate requirement. Hit hard by the power problem are people in vast rural areas where frequent power cuts are a regular feature in district and divisional headquarters. Worst affected are farmers and students appearing for various examinations. However, people in the state capital have so far been spared from power cuts and the Chief Minister assures that despite acute shortage, power supply in Bhopal would not be disrupted. Elsewhere, harder days are feared by the people as only seven of 21 units of MPSEB's eight hydel plants were reported to be in service, sources said, adding only around 2100 mw is available to the Board as against its installed capacity of over 3732 mw from all sources. The only solace appears to be the central sector allocation. But despite that, the gap between demand and availability of electricity during peak evening hours has alarmingly risen to 2000 mw, sources said. -- PTI

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M.P. may face powerless summer

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