With not a single mega watt directly added to the grid by state utilities during the Congress regime since Dabhol went down in 2001, Maharashtra

is reeling under power cuts. The extent of peak load-shedding being currently carried out is like switching off power supply of entire Delhi (3800 MW). The peak deficit in the state has more than doubled from around 1,500 MW in 2001-2 to over 4700 MW by March 2007. And this deficit is growing each day because power supplied by state utilities is unable to meet the rising demand.

The situation is so bad that an angry mob set fire to the house of an MLA in the Ramtek Lok Sabha segment last month. And all this when Maharashtra’s own former chief minister Sushilkumar Shinde is the Union Power Minister.

Figures show that over a period of five years, the peak demand has galloped from around 12,000 MW to as much as 17,500 MW now. Conservative projections show that this demand is expected to touch 22,000 MW in four years—the highest in the entire country.

While the plan for the state was to add 500 MW during the Tenth Plan period, the 250 MW thermal plant at Parli awaits synchronisation and the completion of the 250 MW plant at Ghatghar has spilled over to this financial year.

Industry in the state is already facing two-day shutdowns every week. With no immediate solutions in sight, India Inc top brass agree it’s problem created by the state Government itself. “If the situation persists, new projects may even move out of the state. We have made out a proposal to the government... 10 or 20 companies will jointly promote a power project with fiscal and tax concessions for captive consumption,” said Ashwin Shroff, chairman, Excel Industries.

Capacity addition from private players—be it thermal or hydel—has been equally bad. To make matters worse, the state and the Centre have been unable to get the asset in the form of the 2150 MW Dabhol power project on ground up and running on gas since 2004. This despite the EGOM having political heavyweights from Maharashtra like Shinde, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Petroleum Minister Murli Deora.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Union Power Secretary Anil Razdan said that the power shortage in Maharashtra would not have been so accentuated had the Dabhol plant been operational by now. He also said that while two blocks of the plant (1440 MW) would be operational by June-July this year, the entire plant should be operational by December.

However, this revival is based on short-term supplies of gas for the plant. While around projects for 2,250 MW of power are being implemented by the state Government, there are another 4750 MW of power plants in the pipeline.

But some of these projects are either stuck on account of clearances or on fuel linkages. These projects, therefore, may not go on stream as scheduled.