Mumbai spared power cuts for time being

Mumbai, Apr 9 (UNI) Mumbai has been spared power cuts for the time being but power utility companies providing electricity to the country's financial capital say, that emergency conservation measures can alone help in easing the demand-supply gap.

Energy Minister Dilip Walse-Patil reviewed the power situation at Mantralaya here this evening, where officials of Tata power, Reliance Energy and BEST were present.

Talking to reporters here, Mr Prasad Menon, Managing Director of Tata Power Company said at present it is availing about 300 mw from Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala even as efforts are on to procure electricity from Jammu and Kashmir.

''The situation is tight and is being monitored on a day to day basis. Emergency conservation measures are a neccessity. Even the state Government is taking steps in this direction. All power utility companies are united in this effort. If the load comes down, there will be no power cut. In May-June, the requirement is expected to go up'', he added.

Mr Lalit Jalan of Reliance Energy said MERC will decide whether the cost of purchasing electricity at high cost will be passed on to the consumers. ''We are working together to ensure that there is no additional burden on consumers. We have also launched campaign for energy conservation. In the last three days, drawal from State grid is next to zero. Earlier, the drawal for Mumbai was between 60 to 70 mw,''he said.

UNI