Lucknow: Technical glitches at major thermal power plants and scanty rainfall have led to a power crisis in Uttar Pradesh.
The situation aggravated due to the sudden failure of several power generation units at Anpara thermal power plant and Lalitpur Thermal Power Station.
With 8 to 24 hours of power cuts, villagers in several districts of Uttar Pradesh are going though a hard time. Irritated by constant power outages, consumers of the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) are protesting across the state on a regular basis.
The present demand for power in the state has gone up to 20,275 MW while the supply is limited at around 16000 MW only, which creates a power deficit of around 4000 MW leaving many parts of Uttar Pradesh, gasping for electricity. If officials of the UPPCL are to be believed, the main reason behind this crisis is the low rainfall and high demand for electricity in the agricultural sector. However, efforts are on to bring the situation back to normal within a few days.
Speaking to ETV, Uttar Pradesh Power Minister, Shrikant Sharma said, "The demand has increased due to increased power consumption. With this, the government has also increased the power supply hours. Earlier, villages used to get 4-5 hours of power supply but now they are getting it for 18 hours. On the other hand, 24 hours supply has been ensured in the cities. But the power supply system is in a very bad shape. Power from the feeder is going on, but till the time it reaches the distribution, the situation is getting worse due to technical glitches. Sometimes the wire snaps, the pole falls, and the transformer blows off."
"We are changing the system. Under our new scheme 'Power for All', the power crisis will be solved by 2019. Authorities have been directed that if load shedding is more in the night then supply will be provided in the day as the demand has crossed 20 thousand MW mark,' he added.
After coming to power, the Yogi government had announced 18 hours of power supply in rural areas and 22 hours in urban areas. But post the formation of BJP government in UP, the electric supply system in the state has collapsed.
Principal Secretary, Power, Alok Kumar said, "The demand for electricity has increased in the state this year. That's why we are purchasing more electricity also. From rural areas to urban areas, electricity is being distributed from 2 to 5 hours more everyday than last year. All officers have been instructed to attend the local fault as soon as possible. The power cut problem will soon be over in the entire state."
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