Ranchi, June 9: The entire state today plunged into darkness after the lone unit at Tenughat Vidyut Nigam Ltd (TVNL) collapsed due to a tube leak early this morning.

“The leak is likely to take around 24 hours to be fully repaired and to synchronise TVNL back into the state grid. The unit is already overworked and requires urgent maintenance. Till then, the state would have to bear with us,” TVNL chief engineer P.N. Singh told The Telegraph over phone from Lalmatia in Bokaro district.

Figures released by the central load despatch centre revealed that against a peak time demand of 800MW, actual generation in Jharkhand was a paltry 157MW from the state’s more than three-decade-old thermal power generating station at Patratu leaving a shortfall of over 650MW.

The figures revealed that faced with a huge deficit in supplies, Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB) was forced to draw heavily from the eastern pool to prevent chaos. Against an allocation of 370MW, the state was overdrawing 530MW from the eastern grid.

Even after overdrawing heavily, a net shortage remains of more than 120MW leaving the Jharkhand board with no option but to order blackouts throughout the state in phases round the clock.

Power board officials were quick to point out that taking power from outside sources results in huge losses. While JSEB purchases power from these sources at Rs 8 to Rs 10 per unit, it is forced to sell at Rs 1.32 per unit to domestic consumers and Rs 3.80 to industrial consumers. For every unit of power purchased and sold, JSEB is forced to incur a net loss of Rs 4 to Rs 7 a unit. However, they added that JSEB, despite incurring losses, buys power from outside sources only in public interest.

Even Ranchi was not left outside the purview of incessant blackouts. Though the overnight thundershowers reduced temperature, normal life was brought to a complete halt with JSEB enforcing blackouts since morning.

Singh added that work was on in full swing at the TVNL’s second unit, which is expected to be put back into operation within the next one week. The unit was badly damaged in May last year and had to be sent to BHEL to be repaired.