Mumbai: Owing to the rise in temperature, demand for power has increased, causing a 3,000mw shortage and forcing the government to start load-shedding in rural areas. Also, power generation at a few places in the state has been shut down due to technical difficulties, further worsening the situation. The state has exhausted its water share of Koyna, which is the biggest source of hydro-electricity in Maharashtra. The state, which boasted a power surplus till a few months ago, has now come under criticism for shortage of power.

There is around 2,000mw higher demand as compared to last year, with 1,500 mw load-shedding in the state. At present, the state needs 18,000mw to 18,500mw power supply with the growing heat, said an official
from MAHAGENCO (Maharashtra State Power Generation Company). The sets closed due to technical difficulties include Khaparkheda (210mw), Koradi (660mw), Parli (250mw), Adani (660mw) and Ratan India (two sets of 270mw). Meanwhile, the functional sets of Ratan India and Adani are not generating power to their full potential. The state usually gets 600 mw power from the central grid which is also not available at present, putting it in more trouble.

Maharashtra has claim over 62.7 tmc of the Koyna’s water from which hydro-power is generated. However, the water level has drastically gone down and no generation is possible, the official said.

The government has been supplying power to agriculture pumps between 1 am and 7 am to facilitate even distribution of power supply.

Meanwhile, the state government has no plans to buy “costly” power from co-generation units of co-operative sugar mills.

There is a power deficit of 4,000mw due to the closure of eight units because of technical reasons, leading to load-shedding across the state.

In a statement issued, Mahavitaran, a public sector undertaking controlled by the state government, has attributed the 1,500mw need-based load-shedding to the rise in demand for power and shortfall in its availability.

Mahavitaran said that it has been making all-out efforts to make power available through power exchange and power banking systems to end the current load-shedding.