MSEDCL has tied up with interim franchisee Tata Power Company Private Ltd for additional power. However, TPC can generate only 200 MW for 10 hours and captive power plants can provide 25-30 MW power for eight hours.
Hence, the demand of a total of 191 MW of power can be met. There still remains a balance of 33 MW power and, hence, as a temporary measure Puneites will have to bear the brunt of an hour’s load shedding from Wednesday. “We are not getting surplus power as during the Monsoon there is an overhauling of thermal power plants. The power generation has been visibly reduced while the demand has not,” Gautam explained. “Again there has been a reduction in the generation of power from 1000 MW to 300 MW at the Dabhol Power plant. These problems have been compounded due to lack of rain. In the State, there is a shortfall of more than 4,500 MW,” he added.
Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had appealed to the people to cooperate in the event of an increase in load shedding in the State. Cities like Pune, Navi Mumbai and Thane had zero loadshedding and a decision had been awaited to restart load-shedding. According to a Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd official, the requirement for Pune is 750 MW. However, other cities have to bear the brunt of load shedding for more than two-three hours, an MSEDCL official explained. Cities like Navi Mumbai, Thane, Mulund, Bhandup and Panvel face a shortfall of 263 MW and can generate power only up to 103 MW. Since the gap is huge, they will have to face load shedding for a couple of hours.