Calcutta, Aug 24: The power situation turned worse today with two units collapsing at the Kolaghat plant, already dogged by coal scarcity.

CESC-served Calcutta and its adjoining areas had power cuts ranging from 45 minutes to nearly two hours when the shortfall shot up to 220MW in the evening.

The combined shortfall in the state power board and CESC areas was a staggering 770MW. Blackouts lasted five to six hours in the districts.

Bengal recorded a 640MW shortfall yesterday, following a drop in generation at Kolaghat because of the dwindling supply of coal from Orissa’s Ib Valley. Generation at the Bakreswar power plant also went down as some of its coal had to be sent to Kolaghat to make up for the deficit.

The problem was compounded today when a 210MW unit collapsed following a tube leak. A 200MW unit at National Thermal Power Corporation’s plant in Farakka was also shut down for repairs last night.

The West Bengal Power Development Corporation, which oversees generation in state-run plants, said attempts were on to restart the Kolaghat unit by tomorrow.

Coal supply from Orissa has been severely affected by floods there. “Railway lines are under water at Jharsuguda and Rourkela and coal wagons have stopped moving,” said S. Mahapatra, the power development corporation managing director.

However, six rakes from the Asansol-Ranigunj coal belt reached Kolaghat last night. “We expect to step up generation with this coal. We are trying to restart another unit at Santaldih that was shut down for repairs. The situation should improve tomorrow,” said Mahapatra.