Ajit Pawar blames Telangana stir for power cuts

Repercussions of the on-going agitation in Andhra Pradesh (AP) over the issue of separate statehood for Telangana are being felt in Maharashtra.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, on Sunday, informed that the state government has imposed load shedding in rural areas after coal supply from AP to thermal power stations in Maharashtra got affected following the strike in AP.

After attending an event to celebrate 78th birth anniversary of late Mathadis leader Annasaheb Patil in Navi Mumbai, Energy Minister Pawar, who had vowed to make Maharashtra load shedding-free by 2012, said power cuts will be executed in three phases in rural areas.

"A difficult situation has cropped up all of a sudden. Coal from Andhra is used to generate electricity in our plants at Paras, Bhusawal, Koradi, Chandrapur and others. However, the developments in the neighbouring state has forced us to impose three-hour power cut in rural parts," Pawar said, adding the state is falling short of 800-900 megawatts of energy than the actual requirement.

The Deputy CM further said the Congress-NCP coalition is aware that it is festival season and the demand for electricity will be on higher side. Therefore, efforts are being made to see the situation is brought under control soon. Informing that his department is willing to take surplus electricity from other states, the minister said, "I held parleys with officials of the department to find ways to restore power supply, immediately. We were looking to generate electricity at the hydroelectric plant in Koyna, but it has hit roadblock with technical glitches cropping up. In addition, it's the monsoon and moist coal is not producing enough heat to generate the desired amount of electricity at thermal power stations."

He stated production of electricity at Central Grid was also affected due to the Telangana protests, only adding to the state’s electricity woes.

"Coal from Andhra Pradesh is also supplied to the Central Grid. So, the grid is also not in position to help us in any way. Therefore, it is necessary the situation in Andhra turns normal to straighten things here (in Maharashtra)," Pawar concluded.