A day after chief minister Akhilesh Yadav promised 24 hours of power supply across the state, the top brass of UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) went into an overdrive to make arrangement of power in excess of demand.
According to UPPCL sources, while demand was expected to touch 16,500 MW, the corporation has made arrangements of around 18,000 MW. This is almost 1,500 MW more than the expected demand. UPPCL MD AP Mishra said the idea was to provide 24 hours of power supply not only in urban but also rural areas.
The excess arrangement was made in view of any exigency.
UPPCL going into an overdrive to make adequate power arrangement comes at a time when UP heads towards the crucial assembly elections.
According to the arrangement, UP on Sunday had 14,500 MW from sources like state-owned power plants, central sector and independent power producers. In addition, UPPCL made arrangement of 2,200 MW from the energy exchange. Mishra said the corporation purchased power worth around Rs 8 crore, the highest ever in a single day, on Sunday. The cost of power from the exchange varies between Rs 2 and Rs 3.5 per unit. In all, the corporation purchased around 27 million units from the exchange.
Mishra said they might resort to thermal backing (shutting down the power plants which provide relatively expensive power) to strike a balance with power purchased and supplied.
Experts said power availability should also be backed by a robust transmission and distribution system to avoid tripping.Chief secretary Rahul Bhatnagar had pointed out the fact soon after the state government announced 24 hours of power to the urban as well as rural areas.
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