After making people adapted to undeclared load-shedding for long days, the State Government on Saturday finally confirmed power cuts and said the situation would continue till June next year.
Energy Minister Pranab Prakash Das said power cuts would continue till June next year as generation of hydropower has been disrupted due to lack of rains. On Friday, Secretary Suresh Mohapatra had formally announced power cuts for one to three hours daily.
"We are facing a shortfall of 500-550 MW because of a drastic fall in hydro power generation. Therefore, we have no choice but to continue power cuts till June," Das told mediapersons here.
"Instead of the usual 2085 MW, we are now getting no more than 1,750 MW of hydro power because of falling reservoir levels caused by deficient rainfall. If it does not rain adequately over the next one month, the situation is going to turn really precarious," the Minister warned.
Besides the falling power generation, Das attributed power cuts to increased demand. "Normally, the demand peaks in May-June touching 4,000 MW. But this year, we have reached that level, in fact more than that, in September itself," he said.
The Minister said the distribution companies would soon announce the time and duration of power cuts.
According to the Government decision, there would be power cuts for two hours in cities like Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Puri.
But, power cuts are happening for more than three hours in the city and there is no time table fixed for the cuts.
Meanwhile, the decision has triggered sharp reactions from opposition parties. "Resorting to power cuts in rainy seasons clearly shows irresponsibility of the State Government," said senior BJP leader Pratap Sarangi. Congress leader Chiranjib Biswal slammed the Government for forcing people to suffer. "Finally, false claims of the Government regarding power reformation have come to the fore. People will suffer a lot," said Biswal.