Haryana making arrangements to overcome power shortage: Minister

Chandigarh, May 9 (SocialNews.XYZ) Haryana is facing an electricity shortage of up to 3,000 MW, but the government has made arrangements to overcome it, state Power Minister Ranjit Singh said on Monday.

"To meet the shortage of electricity in the state, it is being purchased at the rate of Rs 12 per unit. At present, electricity is being supplied seven hours during night to the agriculture sector. Apart from this, 24-hour electricity is being provided in more than 5,600 villages along with urban domestic consumers," the minister said in a statement.

The maximum demand, he said, in the state last summer was 12,125 MW per day, which is expected to be around 15,000 MW during the peak season this year.

"To bridge this gap of 2,500 to 3,000 MW, power corporations have made elaborate arrangements," he said.

The minister said that at present, three units each with a generation capacity of 250-250 MW are operating in Panipat, two units of 600-600 MW each in Khedar while two units of 300-300 MW each are operating in Yamunanagar.

In addition, 1,400 MW of electricity is being drawn from Adani Power. Agreements have been signed to get 1,000 MW additional electricity from Adani Power, 350 MW from Chhattisgarh and 150 MW from Madhya Pradesh which will start coming from this month.

"If needed, more electricity will be purchased from the market and there will be no shortage of power even during the peak hours," the minister said.

The peak summer season in Haryana is generally considered to begin from June 15 and there is high demand for electricity in June and July.

"If we compare the last 15 years, this time the heat has intensified in April itself due to which there is a significant surge in demand," Singh said.

Due to increasing urbanisation in the National Capital Region (NCR) and shifting of industries out of Delhi, the demand for electricity has increased from 1,000 MW to 1,500 MW per day, he added.

Source: IANS