Bhopal: An energy crisis is looming over Madhya Pradesh in irrigation and Diwali season. With the national coal crisis still making headlines, a 500 MW power unit of the state government tripped on Sunday at Sanjay Gandhi Thermal Power Station and is still out of operation. It’s a triple whammy. Thermal power stations owned by the Madhya Pradesh government are performing at half of their capacity. Hydel stations are not performing at their best right now. And the national share of power is also expected to be low due to the coal crisis.
As per government estimates, the peak demand in the irrigation season that started on October 15th is likely to cross 17,000 MW. As of now, MP is managing around 9,000 MW. At this crucial juncture, a 500 MW unit at Sanjay Gandhi Thermal Power Station has gone on the blink. What makes it even more alarming is that this unit was initiated on September 19th after undergoing a ‘capital overhauling’. It used to produce1.2 crore units of the average requirement, but this is unlikely to be available during this peak season.
The Festival of Lights will start tomorrow; therefore, electricity consumption is increasing. In such a situation, the power plants are not cooperating as the production continues to fall. The situation is that in order to meet the demand of 8398 MW power, the government has to take 6,289 MW power from the schedule. The government had sent a demand of 6034 MW. In return, 255 MW more electricity has been taken. The Energy Department claims that the supply is being done according to the demand in the state.