Ranchi, Feb. 21: Be prepared for frequent blackouts in the next 10 days.

Preliminary forecast revealed that most parts of the state would have to bear with prolonged blackouts as the thermal power plant at Tenughat in the Bokaro district was shut down due to technical snags today.

It is for the third time in a span of two weeks that the Tenughat Vidyut Nigam Ltd (TVNL) was forced to shut down due to tube leakages in its boiler unit.

Meanwhile, in a desperate attempt to meet internal demands, the state began to overdraw at least twice the allotted quota of power from the central pool, paying as much as four times the normal rate to ensure normality.

According to the new rules, any state drawing more than its allotted quota is required to pay Rs 8 per unit against the normal rates of a little over Rs 2 per unit.

Figures released by the central load despatch centre indicated that against its quota of 193MW, Jharkhand was drawing as much as 343MW.

“TVNL is functioning with only one unit since May last year. This unit has been overworked and needs to be under maintenance for at least 10 days,” TVNL chief engineer P.N. Singh told The Telegraph.

With the collapse of TVNL, the state’s total generation today plummeted to a paltry 100MW coming from the Patratu Thermal Power Station (PTPS). This was against a peak time demand of 700MW, resulting in a deficit of around 600MW.

But despite the overdraw, the uncovered deficit was 240MW, leaving the Jharkhand State Electricity Board with no option but to enforce prolonged blackouts all over the state in phases.