Maharashtra: Shortfall of 500 MW, load shedding continues

On Wednesday, peak demand continued to be high and crossed 20,000 MW

LOAD SHEDDING in parts of the state continued for the third day on Wednesday as the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company faced a shortage of 500 MW. Sources said distressed load shedding continued for one to four hours in the high loss zones or areas where pending bills and losses are higher than 58 per cent.

On Wednesday, peak demand continued to be high and crossed 20,000 MW, said an official from the discom. Of this, only around 12,000 MW was met through the discom’s sources, including Mahagenco and power purchase deals with private generation companies.

While Mahagenco has an installed capacity of 13,602 MW, currently, it is producing only 7,012 MW. Almost all of the thermal power plants in the state continue to run on supercritical coal stock (less than four days’ worth). As a result, load shedding was carried out in the ‘G’ zone of the discom, which includes Marathwada and parts of Mumbra, Thane and Bhiwandi.

Meanwhile, the discom has bought power from the central exchange to meet the demand. “We have bought 3,200 MW worth power from the central exchange at a cost of Rs 5.76 per unit,” said a senior official of the discom. Sources said the rate at which the power was bought from central exchange was much higher than usual as the country is facing a power shortage and that same would be passed on to consumers as fuel adjustment charges.

“With temperatures rising and heat wave prevailing across the country, consumption has increased. Moreover, coal stocks are low, which has only added to the problem. We are watching the weather carefully. Rain spells are expected in the southern and eastern states… demand is expected to fall. That should bring some respite,” said an official.