No respite from cuts as power shortage persists

New Delhi, May 4 (UNI) There was no respite from power cuts for Delhiites today as the power generation again fell short of the peak demand of 3272 MW, leading to a loadshedding of 400 MW.

For the second day running, the Delhi Transco had to resort to power cuts in various parts of the capital as the total generation was 2872 MW, far short of the peak demand of 3272, a significant rise from 2831 MW yesterday, a Transco spokesperson said.

''Most of the loadshedding today was to meet the generation shortage rather than to maintain Grid discipline, which is usually the main reason for loadshedding,''the spokesperson said.

That the power situation remains grim is evident from the fact that the power shortage was experienced despite the rectification of the Badarpur unit whose shutdown on Tuesday night, due to boiler tube leak (BTL), contributed to power shortage yesterday.

''The problem in the Badarpur plant has been rectified and it has resumed operation since last night,''the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile the Northern Grid, which accounts for a major share of power to the Capital, continues to experience frequency problems.

Low frequency of power in the Northern Grid due to overdrawing from the network by the other states in the region has, in the past few days, forced the Delhi Transco to take recourse to loadshedding to keep the grid under control.

With Northern Grid continuing to face frequency problems as power demand by states outpaces generation by several notches, and the power demands of Delhi rising with the soaring mercury - energy experts feel the demand during the peak Summer in June and July could touch 3900 MW - more shortage could be in the offing in the coming weeks.

Nevertheless, Delhi Transco sources feel that with some Central power plants like those at Dadri, Sanghrauli and Indraprastha expected to be back into operation soon, power generation of the Grid might improve, improving the situation.

UNI AR MSJ BD1907