Power outage in Mumbai and Thane highlights energy crisis in state

Parts of Mumbai and adjoining areas such as Thane saw a power outage on Tuesday following a transmission issue. The outage points to the deepening power crisis in the state amid a strong heat wave and a pick-up in industrial activity.

While power supply was subsequently restored within an hour of the outage, Maharashtra continues to face a power deficit of 3,500 megawatts (MW) per day, according to analysts tracking the sector.

In a statement, a Tata Power spokesperson said that a transmission line of the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company had tripped at the 400 kilovolt (KV) Kalwa grid, which supplies power to Mumbai and suburban areas.

“It is a known fact that Mumbai's power network is wired up to keep the city's system safe from widespread outages in case of any major tripping. In such a scenario, automated power supply trimming gets activated, like what has happened today, resulting in load trimming to effectively manage the issue,” Tata Power said.

An Adani Electricity spokesperson said that the tripping of the transmission line had affected its customers in areas such as Chembur, Bandra and Santacruz in Mumbai. "However, through proactive network rearrangements Adani Electricity could restore entire power supply within 40 minutes of the incident," the spokesperson said.

Though Mumbai does not face routine power outages, it has seen disruptions in the past, such as the one that lasted for nearly 18 hours on October 12, 2020 due to a grid failure. This year, however, say sector experts the megapolis may see a few more rounds of power cuts as demand peaks owing to soaring temperatures and a return to normalcy after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.

Currently, Mumbai's power demand is around 3,500 MW per day, which is being met by distributors Adani Electricity and Tata Power, according to informed sources. The rest of Maharashtra has a power demand of around 28,500 MW per day, which an official at the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL), which distributes power to regions outside Mumbai, said was being met to the tune of 88 per cent or 25,000 MW.

So, the power deficit of 3,500 MW per day was being tackled by the state government by buying additional power from producers such as the Coastal Gujarat Power Limited (CGPL), which has a power plant in Mundra, Gujarat.

Power producers in Maharashtra have also been facing a shortage of coal with daily coal requirement at 1,38,710 metric tons (MT) versus supply which is around 84,000 MT.

"Load shedding is inevitable as demand will outstrip supply in summer. However, there is a protocol to be followed with load shedding. Areas where losses are high will see greater load shedding. At the same time, alternative fuel sources such as wind power will not come up now. It will start from May as pre-monsoon winds will pick up by then. Solar power, on the other hand, tends to be intermittent and hydro power depends on the supply of water," Pramod Deo, former chairman, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, said.

MSEDCL, said informed sources, had been allowed by the state government to explore alternative options to purchase power in the event the demand-supply mismatch was high.