Maharashtra power shortage to end in two months 8212; Munde

MUMBAI, MAY 5: Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde today claimed that the existing problem of power shortage in Maharashtra will be over...

MUMBAI, MAY 5: Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde today claimed that the existing problem of power shortage in Maharashtra will be over in next two months. He also announced that the first phase of the Dabhol Power Plant set by Enron Corporation will be commissioned and dedicated to the nation at the hands of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee within a fortnight.

Munde, who also holds the Energy portfolio in the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance government, was addressing a press conference at Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh this afternoon. Presently, various parts of the state, especially rural areas, are witnessing abrupt power supply apart from haphazard load shedding.

Munde attributed the problem to the excess showers received by various parts of the state last year and a sharp increase in the number of farmers using electric pumps to irrigate their farms this year. 8220;Maharashtra received highest rainfall last year, which was a record in history of last 100 years of monsoons in the State.This resulted in water being available for farming even during the summer.

In addition to it, a whopping 3,50,000 farmers applied for an electricity connection and we have provided the same to 80,000 of them. The remaining farmers have illegally obtained power from the grid. Moreover, Maharashtra has received its quota of power distributed to all states by the National Thermal Power Corporation NTPC and the same has been diverted to Goa. As a result, Maharashtra is witnessing a serious shortage of power 8212; there is a difference of 1,200 MW in demand and supply of power in the State,8221; said Munde.

He added that the Maharashtra State Electricity Board and the State Government have initiated various measures to find a solution to the problem. Munde said tests were on at the Dabhol Power Plant, where commercial power generation will begin within a week. The plant has a capacity of 740 MW.

The deputy chief minister said that part of the Koyna hydro-power generation plant will start generating 250 MW ofpower within next two months. 8220;When put the two together, there will not be any shortage of power in Maharashtra after next two months,8221; the minister said.

He said a special 1,500 kms long transmission line was being laid from Chandrapur power plant to Padgha at a cost of Rs 1,500 crore, 8220;to reduce heavy transmission losses.8221; Munde added that a total of 68 industrial houses have been given permission to generate the power they require and 48 of them have already started power generation. He said the government has identified 10 sites statewide for setting up hydro-power generation plants. The minister added that the government would borrow money from various district cooperative banks and bonds would be floated to raise money for setting up power generation plants in the State.