Calcutta, June 17: All six units of the Kolaghat power plant collapsed this morning as the rainwater that had flooded its switchyard and cable trenches could not be pumped out because of high tide in a river.

The districts suffered long and frequent power cuts — up to six-seven hours in some places — because of the sudden 1200MW drop in generation. But the city was spared because the rain also brought down demand drastically.

In the evening peak hours, the shortfall in the districts shot up to 665MW.

Engineers at the plant, 70km from Calcutta, hoped to revive two of the units by tonight. “It will take the whole of tomorrow to start all six,” said S. Mahapatra, managing di- rector of the state power development corporation.

“The power situation could have been very comfortable because the rain had brought down demand. But suddenly the plant collapsed. We had no way out but to resort to power cuts,” said an official.

But for the natural cooling, the situation could have been worse. “The demand in the districts was 2,550MW, down from around 3,000. If it was a hot, sultry day, the shortfall would have doubled,” an official said.

Mahapatra said this was the first time the Kolaghat plant had collapsed because of flooding. Usually, he explained, the floodwaters drain into the Roopnarayan. “But as luck would have it, this morning the river was in high tide and the rainwater that had drained out back-flowed and flooded the basement, where we have our switchyard and cable trenches. There were a few flashes and two circuit breakers tripped. This led to the collapse.”

The plant initially pressed its two pumps into service but had to requisition four more from Tamluk and Calcutta.

The water was pumped out by evening and workers began clearing the slush.

Officials said the rain would decide the situation tomorrow. “If it rains, the demand will be low and power cuts less. But if it’s a clear day with a scorching sun, there might be prolonged power cuts.”

Trawlers missing

Forty fishermen from South 24-Parganas have been missing in the Bay of Bengal since last night. They had left Kak-dwip, Fraserganj and Namkhana, 90km from Calcutta, on Monday morning and could be last contacted in the evening.