Losing power: Telangana, Andhra Pradesh left in dark for hours

Hyderabad: Telangana and Andhra Pradesh suffered long power cuts on Tuesday ranging from 3-4 hours in urban areas like Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam to long 7-8 hours in rural parts of both the states.

These scheduled and unscheduled power cuts have become a part and parcel of every household.

Reportedly, energy officials said while the two states were already in a crisis due to power distribution woes, the situation worsened due to abnormal weather conditions including delayed monsoon and shortage of coal that hit thermal production in both, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

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The sudden power crisis that has erupted in the state is not just on account of reduced coal supply but also a strong pointer towards underlying threat of damage to crucial equipment due to low quality coal supply.

In fact, the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana regions have lost 1,873 MU of power generation on account of overhauls and breakdowns of power plants in the last two years alone.

Excess loss of power due to overhauls of plants was 860 MU, as per official figures.

If that was not the case, the power cuts could have been reduced by at least half in most parts of the state.

Also read: Telangana warns Andhra Pradesh of power cut 

The primary reason as pointed out by the officials is the use of inferior quality coal and over-use of machinery leading to serious technical glitches.

Moreover, as most of the plants in the region are beyond their average lifespan, the Plant Load Factor (PLF) has decreased substantially, leading to under-utilisation.

Meanwhile as per the Central power ministry, the fair life of thermal power plants is 25 years.

Most plants in the state have been running for over 32 to 45 years. The overuse of the power plants has led to major breakdown, at times ranging for over a month-and-a-half at a stretch.

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