Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, April 20: In a major respite for power consumers this summer, the state government Wednesday decided not to go for power cuts till May 20. “There will not be any power cuts till May 20,” energy minister Pranab Prakash Das said, after chairing a high-level meeting on electricity at the secretariat Wednesday.
The minister said currently the state requires between 3,700 MW and 4,100 MW of power during peak hours. Though the requirement is around 150 MW more compared to previous year’s requirement, the state government is managing it by importing power from other states through power banking.
The government imports around 400 MW power from Punjab and Delhi through power banking, energy department sources said. According to energy department officials, the state procures 200 MW of power from PSPCL, Punjab in April and May. It also draws power from states like Delhi and HP.
Notably, there has been a drop in generation of hydro power in the state as the water level in five major reservoirs has drastically come down following previous year’s drought. It is around 38 per cent of its total capacity. The minister said the energy department will hold another round of meeting between May 15 and May 20 to review the energy requirement of the state for the remaining period of May-June.
