Power woes

Jamshedpur, Jan. 20: People residing in Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB) command areas are facing a tough time due to prolonged load shedding and intermittent ower cuts during the last 24 hours.

Out of a requirement of 160MW, the two power grid sub-stations at Gamharia and Golmuri are getting only 50- 60MW. Apart from affecting the residential areas, the shortfall in power supply has severely affected production process in industrial units at Adityapur and Gamharia.

JSEB officials said the power scenario has worsened as Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) was not able to provide 100MW to JSEB due to technical problems at its Durgapur unit.

According to the agreement between JSEB and DVC, the latter was supposed to provide 150MW to JSEB.

C.D. Kumar, a senior JSEB official, told The Telegraph that the board is in touch with other power agencies to get the requisite power to tackle the situation.

“Technical problems at the Durgapur unit of DVC is affecting the supply of power. Fluctuation in the power supply has further deteriorated the situation,” he said, adding that with the repair work going on at the unit it is expected that by the end of this month or the first week of the February the power supply in the area would improve.

The power supply in JSEB command area remains for only six hours a day. Fed up with the power woes, a few industrial units have opted for Jusco Power.

Jusco has already acquired a power distribution licence for Seraikela-Kharsawan district from the Jharkhand State Electricity Regulatory Commission.

“Four to five units have already taken power connection from Jusco but now it is not sufficient power to cover the requirement of all industrial units of the Adityapur. We are having a meeting tomorrow with other industrial bodies to discuss the issue. We are in touch with the JSEB officials but even they are not being able to provide us with the required power,” said S.N. Thakur, president of Adityapur Small Industries Association.

JSEB general manager (Singhbhum) A.K. Trivedi said: “We are making efforts to procure power from other agencies but other agencies does not have sufficient power to supply. We are dependent on DVC which has assured us a supply of 150MW.”