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Record power supply for farmers

JAIPUR: Despite the continuing power crisis, the public sector electricity distribution companies in Rajasthan made a record supply of 125 crore units to the agricultural consumers in villages during the rabi crop season from October 2007 to January this year.

The discoms bought electricity at high rates from other States and overdrew power from the Northern Grid to supply uninterrupted electricity for six-and-a-half to seven hours a day to the farmers.

A spokesperson of Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam said here on Saturday that electricity saved by load-shedding for domestic, commercial and industrial consumers was also supplied to farmers. The supply of electricity per day increased from last year’s average of 6.25 crore units to 7.25 crore units this year.

The discoms, which obtained electricity worth Rs.750 crore from other States under the Power Purchase Agreements during the last four months, plan to procure power worth Rs.500 crore more during the next two months.

The spokesperson said the State Government had sanctioned Rs.650 crore to the discoms for buying electricity, while the power production capacity at the Suratgarh and Kota thermal power stations had been maintained at 90 per cent.

Three units of the Dholpur project starting production of 330 MW each and Giral plant producing power at 70 per cent capacity also helped in the supply of adequate electricity to farmers.

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