Maharashtra restores full power supply to major cities

Mumbai: Following a furore over what was termed as a temporary load-shedding, power-surplus Maharashtra on Friday afternoon restored fully supply to all major cities, an official said here.

"We have managed to purchase 700 MW power from the markets and consequently restored supply to all major cities including parts of north-east Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad urban, Nagpur and others," Maharashtra State Electricity Boards' joint spokesperson P. S. Patil said.

Since Thursday, the MSEB resorted to emergency, temporary load-shedding ranging from three to nine hours across the state, as the state reeled under a sweltering October heat, students preparing for terminal examinations and the people readying for the Diwali festival.

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"Against the current normal demand of around 18,000 MW, we have experienced a shortfall of 2000 MW due to shortage of coal all over the country, compelling the load-shedding. We have signed long-term Power Purchase Agreements with several companies for uninterrupted power supply, but even they are not getting coal to generate electricity," said Patil.

Several power generation units in the state were hit badly due to coal shortages and while many failed to generate their full capacity, others generated virtually nil.

Maharashtra became a surplus power state in 2012 during the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party regime and this is the first major load-shedding covering the entire state which has been implemented since then.

Patil pointed out that in May this year, the MSEB achieved a peak supply of a staggering 23,000 MW and said as the coal and supply position improves, the load-shedding would be withdrawn soon.

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In Mumbai, loadshedding was imposed in north-eastern suburbs of Bhandup, Mulund, adjoining Thane, Kalwe, Mumbra, Diva and Navi Mumbai, many of them being important industrial and commercial centres.

Similarly, load-shedding was imposed for over four million agricultural pumps in non-urban centres and in many C and D Group comprising mofussil areas, crores of people bore the brunt of upto nine hours power cuts.

However Patil assured that all attempts are being to normalize the situation and as coal supplies increase, full power generation would resume resulting in full power supply.

IANS