Power cuts have deepened in the State with rural areas of the state most affected. The reason for the current power crisis is not adequate power supply from the Central pool as the power supply agency Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (JBVNL) has outstanding dues with the Central Government.
As JBVNL dues before Central is high the Union Ministry of Power has put a restriction on JBVNL from buying additional power during peak hours, also there is less supply from Adhunik power leading to shortage of 350 MW power in the state.
As JBVNL is facing acute power shortage there is load shedding for 15 days. The condition is even worse during peak hours, as there is less than fifty percent electricity supply to the grids. On an average, electricity is available for only 20 hours in the capital as compared to other districts. In Gumla, Simdega, Palamu, Garhwa, Latehar and Khunti, there is power supply for less than 15 hours in a day.
Due to less supply from the grid, there are power cuts with areas having power cuts on alternate basis. This problem persisted in all the divisions of the outskirts. Due to increase in demand, a lot of pressure was also seen on the Hatia 220/132 KV grid. On Monday, due to low availability of electricity, other grids also got less power than required.
Tripping has increased in Nagdi, Bedo, Namkum, Ormanjhi, Tatisilwai and Tupudana and this has also affected the cost of production of the industry. There is a ban on purchase of electricity under the new rule: If there is a delay of 45 days in the payment of the current bill, the central government imposes a ban under the Electricity (Late Payment Surcharge and Related Matters) Rules 2022. Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam owes Rs 88.43 crore. October 15 was the last date to clear the dues but the power supply agency failed to clear the dues leading to power cuts from October 15 till now.
On an average, electricity demand in Jharkhand is around 2000 MW per day. During peak hours, this demand increases to 2200 MW. From Adhunik power , 200 MW of electricity is purchased from the open access system, but it has also stopped. Due to which there is a shortage of 350 MW power per day and the result is continuous load shedding for the last 15 days.
Due to power shortage, Hatia One 132/33 grid was replaced by 100 to 110 with 60 to 70 MW, Namkum grid at around 40 to 60 MW instead of 85 to 90 after 5 pm and Kanke grid. Instead of 70 to 75, it is run on 30 to 35 MW. Due to this, all the 33 kV power substations connected to the grid are also getting half the power for about five hours as compared to the consumption.