Andhra Pradesh, Telangana left in dark as rise in demand causes power cuts

Hyderabad: A sudden rise in the demand for power has triggered massive power cuts, even at night-time, in the twin cities. The difference in the demand on a day when it rains and when it does not, is as high as 20 million units (MU) in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana state.

On days without rainfall, the use of pumpsets in the farm sector, and the use of air-conditioners on the domestic front and in the industrial sector, has resulted in a quantum leap in demand giving way for massive power cuts.

At the same time, the continuing dry spell had led to a deficit of 5 MU in Andhra Pradesh and 23 MU in Telangana. Apart from the scheduled cuts, Hyderabad is also experiencing six to 10 power cuts, each lasting between 15 minutes and three hours.

“There are eight to 10 power cuts in a day. Apart from four hours of scheduled cuts, there are half-an-hour to one-hour cuts in our area. At times, there are 10 or 15-minute cuts. It’s very difficult to do anything that requires power,” said techie P. Shravya from Hafizpet.

Officials say Hyderabad as such is facing a power shortage of 40 per cent. As the supply is from TSSPDCL (earlier known as APCPDCL), the supply has been hit severely with Telangana’s energy pool depleting due to the outage in two of Kothagudem units.

The power demand of both the new states put together is much higher than the demand in the undivided state during this time of the year. “The demand of both the regions is about 280 MU due to a continuing dry spell. This is higher by at least 20 MU in comparison to the demand last year at this time of the year,” said an official.

Officials also interpret the power cuts by stating that frequent disruptions are important to maintain the grid or prevent a grid failure when there is a sudden rise in the load. “These are emergency cuts made to prevent a grid failure. As the northern grid failed last year, there are orders to take all preventive measures to avoid a grid failure. Even if it means power disruptions frequently,” said the official.

Crucial Meeting

The crucial second round meeting on power purchase agreements (PPA) issue between the two states, which will have an impact on the power sharing equation will be held on Monday, August 4, in New Delhi