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Diwali power boost with eye on polls in UP
The people of poll-bound Uttar Pradesh can expect a brighter Diwali this year as the state government is all set to increase power supply around the festival of lights, which is on October 30.
Presently, rural and urban areas get 12-14 hours and 18-22 hours of power supply, respectively. This will be increased to 16-18 hours for rural and 22-24 hours for urban areas. A formal announcement is likely to be made by chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.
Managing director, UP Power Corporation Limited, A P Mishra said all preparations for an increased power supply will be completed by October-end. “It was part of the state government commitment,” he said. Sources said that the state government seeks to wheel in more power when the demand lessens. As on date, while the demand is at the peak up to 15,000MW, the UPPCL is able to provide nearly 13,000MW, leaving a gap of nearly 2,000MW.
The rural areas are facing prolonged power cuts and the maximum power supply is in the range of nearly 10-12 hours. The same is with urban areas where power supply is to the tune of 18-22 hours. Sources said the state government is looking to not only state-owned power plants but also those of the private sector like Rosa, Bajaj, Bara and Lanco for a higher and efficient generation.
While the UP Rajya Utpadan Nigam has set a target of nearly 4,000MW from state-owned power plants, the UPPCL expects to get nearly 5000MW just from private players. A senior UPPCL official, however, said power supply from IPP will come through only after a separate power corridor is created. “For this, we need to have a Short Term Open Access (STOC) and Long Term Open Access agreement,” he added. Zay Jones Jersey
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