P’kula suffers power cuts for 8 hrs, Mohali sweats it out too
“The entire system from root to the top is a big mess. There is absolutely no contingency planning by the power department. Now we want the electricity department to be privatised,” said Goel.
3 min read
The poshest are in the city gets power supply from the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport.
With the state of Haryana facing a power shortage, Panchkula is also reeling under an acute power crisis with the city seeing 8-hour power cuts on a daily basis. Scheduled cuts in the industrial area are lasting for almost the same time but with short intervals. Meanwhile Chandigarh has seen a spike in power demand with the same touching 300 MW now.
Officials said that due to a shortage of power, cuts shall be imposed on the entire city from 5-6 am, 8-8.30 am, 10-12 noon, 3.30-5.30 pm, 8.30-9 pm, 11.30 pm-12 midnight and 2-3 am. In industrial areas, eight-hour cuts from 8 pm to 4 am are also being imposed. Panchkula has never witnessed such a power situation in the pastA senior official of the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vidyut Nigam Limited said, “The cuts are due to a shortage of power. But the situation should be fine in a few days.”
Jeewan Goel, President of Resident Welfare association Sector 6 Panchkula, said the cuts have made it difficult to work.
“The entire system from root to the top is a big mess. There is absolutely no contingency planning by the power department. Now we want the electricity department to be privatised,” said Goel.
“Due to the long power cuts, the water supply to the sector is also affected and people are facing troubles.”
On April 26, the Haryana Chief Minister said that uninterrupted electricity will be provided to the citizens of the state and permanent measures are being taken by the Power DISCOMs. The problem of power cuts in the state will be resolved soon, he had said.
Chandigarh’s power demand surge
In Chandigarh, the demand has risen significantly, touching 300 MW on Thursday. However, officials of the engineering department said that the situation in the city is not as bad as in the neighbouring areas of Panchkula and Mohali. Mohali has seen long unscheduled power cuts in the last few days.
Chandigarh has no power generation of its own and buys its power through its allocation from Central generating stations (CGS): the National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC), National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) and Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Ltd (THDC).
To meet the rise in demand during summers, the electricity department procures un-requisitioned surplus power from different stations. However, the need to purchase power has not risen as yet, according to the officials of the engineering wing.
The department has a power purchase agreement (PPA) of 247MW. To meet the shortfall, un-requisitioned surplus power is usually purchased from power plants at Dadri, Jhajjar, Unchahar-I and Unchahar-II, and various other plants. At present, the power load of Chandigarh is fed from Kishangarh-based 3×100 MVA power transformers, Mohali’s 2×80 MVA and 66-kV line from Dhulkote.
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