No respite from power crisis

kolkata, April 25 There seems to be no let-up in the power crisis prevailing in West Bengal. A primary reason for this is the supply shortage triggered by a technical failure of the newly-commissioned 300-MW Sagardighi power plant in Murshidabad district.

There was no production in the plant in the last three days and the situation is likely to continue for another three days.

A 60-MW shortfall was recorded in the CESC area at 11.30 am on Friday that roughly translates to a 30-minute power-cut. The shortfall in the areas under the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Corporation Limited (WBSEDCL) was around 350 to 500 MW. The demand for power was 4,000 MW in the state on Friday.

The 900-MW pumped storage project in Purulia was also functioning at its sub-optimal capacity. It could generate only 600 MW because it could not lift and store water due to a power crunch on Thursday night.

“Power plants in the state have only seven to 10 days' stock of coal left. This is below the critical stage of 15 days. The supply of coal from the Coal India is not stable due to unavailability of wagons to transport coal,”said S K Mohapatra, Managing Director, West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited.