Summer lashing Dehradun and other parts of Uttarakhand with blistering heat right in April, the State has been reeling under severe spells of power-cuts for some days.
Quizzed, the power officials ascribed the ongoing power crisis to scanty pre-winter and winter rainfall in the higher reaches and the consequent dip in the generation of power. The gap keeps spiralling between demand and supply, resulting in the State plunging into a grave power crisis.
UPCl spokesperson Madhusudan Issar said that Kalagarh hydro power project has temporarily stopped generation-the shortfall is around 198 MW- due to slow water current.
However, the particular official flatly denied that there had been power-cuts in any part of Dehradun on Tuesday, saying that the demand and supply were evenly balanced.
He said that the demand of electricity in the State on Tuesday was 35.81 million units whereas the availability of the electricity was 35.81 million units. UPCl received 8.87 MU from various state hydro power units, he said. To meet the demand and supply, 14.30 MU power had been purchased from the Centre-run hydro power units on Tuesday. UPCl is receiving 200 MW from Tata Power on daily basis after tendering process was completed for April, he informed.
However, the amusing part of his statement was his denial of any part of the city facing power-cuts on Tuesday. No power cut was reported from any parts of the State on Tuesday, claimed UPCl official Issar, adding in the same breath that UPCl would purchase 5 MU from Indian Energy Exchanges to bridge the deficit on Wednesday. Power generation in the State has come down by around 2 MU of the total generation potential of 11 MU, he admitted.
However, the reality is that the intense weather conditions enhancing demand manifold, things seem to be going from bad to worse. The people are suffering with power-cuts continuing for hours. “Since the summer set in spells of power-cuts have been continuing unabated. This is landing us, particularly, the elderly, in misery. We hope the unit concerned with generating power would try its best to ensure uninterrupted power supply during these sweltering time instead of denying facts,” said Rajesh Bisht, resident of Dalanwala.
It has been learnt that the power projects generate around 11 MU in April during the normal time. But the generation has dipped by around 2 MU this April due to very low or no water discharge in the rivers from where these projects operate. Hard-pressed thus to bridge the deficit, UPCl has been purchasing power from the other resources.
The state’s power generation is heavily dependent on discharge of water in the river, heavy snowfall and melting of glaciers. The power crisis is likely to aggravate with the expected volume of snowfall remaining elusive this year so far, an UPCl official said, adding that they were looking forward to good monsoon rains to make for the deficit.
While crops have been affected by deficient rains, the power generation in hydroelectric projects in the hill State has considerably declined due to an unusual “slowdown” in the melting of snow deposits in the high mountain ranges.
The erratic monsoon has not only resulted in inadequate and inequitable precipitation in the region but also affected the melting of snow, leading to erratic discharge in the snow-fed rivers. Normally, the discharge in these rivers starts increasing in March as snow begins to melt this time and reaches its maximum towards the end of June when the summer is at its peak. This time, things are not moving on the expected lines, plunging the State into a deep power crisis.