No power project to be scrapped: Capt

He stated that the state government had not signed any power purchase agreement with these companies and they were free to sell their power to anyone they wanted. Questioning the state government’s stand,he said what is use of getting these power projects here after acquiring land for them,when they have no commitment towards the state. “We can’t pay the price of giving away our land and inviting environmental hazards for others to buy the power generated in our state”,he added.

Reiterating his commitment that the Congress will ensure the continuity and not scrap any of the projects approved by the current government,he said,anything that is approved in the interest of the state will get due support.

North reels under power shortage

Declining river water levels,coal shortage and forced outages have plunged the northern region comprising states of Rajashtan,Punjab,Haryana,UP,Delhi,Himachal,Chandigarh and Uttarakhand into power crisis.

According to the overall position,as on October 16,against the requirement of 31,690 MW of power in the region,the total supply was 28,940 MW,a shortfall of 2,750 MW. In terms of energy need,against the demand of 653.5 million units,the shortfall was 78.17 million units.

The situation is a result of several factors including lower generation against installed capacity by power producers in both the government and private sector. The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC),which has the installed capacity of 9,322 MW in the northern region,is generating 7,454 MW and Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC) is generating 1,022 MW against installed capacity of 1,320 MW.

The steepest fall has been in hydropower plants owing to lower water level in rivers and reservoirs.

The National Hydro Power Corporation’s output is down to 1,276 MW against capacity of 3,074 MW and Nathpa Jakhri in Himachal is producing 609 MW against capacity of 1,500 MW. The output of Tehri Corporation is down to 407 MW against capacity of 1,100 MW and the lean phase (lesser water inflow),has brought down the power production of Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) is down to 1140 MW against full capacity of 2,866 MW.

The private sector too is producing merely 551 MW against capacity of 1,442 MW. The power crisis has deepened in Punjab and Haryana also owing to the forced outages (thermal units shut owing to technical problems or for repair).

Haryana is short by 1,010 MW of power after units in Yamunanagar,Hisar and Panipat shut down owing to technical glitches.

The coal shortage in the country has further compounded the problem. Against the coal stock of 15-30 days,Haryana’s thermal units have just one (Panipat) to six days (Hisar,Yamunanagar) coal reserves.