Maharashtra has declared load shedding in some parts of the State including Nagpur from Tuesday, April 11
Nagpur: In a kind of double whammy, Nagpurians would face rising summer heat and load-shedding, too. The MSEDCL, which supplies electricity to more than 2.8 crore consumers across Maharashtra, has declared load shedding in some parts of the State including Nagpur from Tuesday, April 11. However, Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai will not be affected this summer, according to media reports.
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According to reports, load shedding is being carried out due to an unexpected rise in demand for power as compared to the supply which has been badly hit due to domestic coal shortage. The MSEDCL is facing a shortfall of 2,500 to 3,000MW to cater to the increasing demand which is why it is carrying out the load shedding. The MSEDCL is left with no option and urge consumers to cooperate with us,” said an MSEDCL spokesperson.
Another official said the recent peak demand across Maharashtra rose to over 28,000MW in April from 26,000MW in February. “We fear the demand could touch 30,000MW soon. Although we have power purchase agreements for 33,700MW, out of this, 21,057MW (62%) is procured from thermal power stations within and outside the state. Due to shortage of coal, supply from these thermal stations has dropped by 6,000MW,” the official said. “We appeal to consumers to conserve electricity between 6am and 10am and 6pm and 10pm daily,” said MSEDCL MD Vijay Singhal.
In a statement, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has stated that ‘load-shedding will have to be done temporarily’ as per the guiding principles of Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) to bridge the gap of 2,500 MW to 3,000 MW in demand and supply in urban as well as rural areas of the State.
As per the State-run power distribution utility, heatwave has been rising since February, and power use for agricultural pumps as well as industrial production has increased. Hence, there is a record demand of 28,000 MW in the State. Interestingly, it stated that ‘barring Mumbai’, power demand in MSEDCL area across the State has increased by 4,000 MW as compared to that in previous year. The power demand since last week has been 24,500 MW to 24,800 MW. Considering the trend the power demand is likely to rise to 25,500 MW soon. Even at night, the power demand is 22,500 MW to 23,000 MW. MSEDCL has contracts for supply of 37,900 MW. Of this, 33,700 MW is the designed capacity of power stations. Out of this, 12,057 MW of power comes from thermal power stations.
Higher the bill default, longer the hours of power-cut
The MSEDCL may resort to load-shedding as per the ‘higher the bill default, longer the load-shedding hours’ formula. Already, for many parts of the State including Nagpur, field units of MSEDCL have prepared tentative charts to be submitted for approval once the ongoing festive season is over. According to sources, the load-shedding timings for various areas may be 7.30 am to 9.30 am, 2.30 pm to 4.15 pm, 4.15 pm to 5.45 pm, 3.45 pm to 7.30 pm, and 4 pm to 6 pm. The areas with maximum default may face load-shedding for a maximum four hours. Depending upon the bill default percentage, the load-shedding duration may be 2.45 hours, two hours, 1.45 hours, and 1.30 hours in different areas.
