Maharashtra stares at first power crisis in nearly 10 years

Maharashtra is reeling under a major power crisis with load-shedding and black-outs poised for a return after nearly a decade.

The situation has compounded because of many issues – the sudden jump in mercury resulting in a heat wave and an end to Covid-induced restrictions which led to a sudden boom in activities across sectors apart from a shortage of coal and water.

The state’s demand has increased to over 28,000 MW and is expected to increase further and shoot past 30,000 MW.

Also Read | More power cuts in store for India as demand rises amid coal crunch

The power shortage has rattled the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi dispensation which is constantly under attack from the BJP opposition.

“We are facing a shortfall of 3,000 to 4,000 MW,” energy minister Dr Nitin Raut acknowledged. “Coal is in short supply and there is not much scope for generating hydropower due to low availability of water because of summer,” he added.

The government is regularly reviewing the situation with power distribution utility MahaDiscom and two other utilities – MahaGenco and MahaTransco.

The MahaDiscom has already resorted to load-shedding up to 700 to 800 MW.

As a policy decision, the Maharashtra government has allowed MahaDiscom to purchase additional power from private players till at least June 15, when the power generation situation is expected to improve with the onset of south west monsoon.

According to Raut, many states are facing a coal shortage due to reduced production in coal mines. “Even if coal becomes available, rakes for its transportation are not available. The management of coal in India seems to have gone wrong,” he said.

While MVA leaders have been blaming Coal India Ltd (CIL), the BJP has said that it was mismanagement on part of the tri-party government that has led to the situation.

Senior BJP leader and minister of state for railways, coals and minister Raosaheb Patil-Danve said: “The MVA government has no coal storage, and should purchase it from other states or wherever there is surplus coal and address the issue.”

Former state energy minister and senior BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule lashed out at Raut and MVA. “It is the collective failure of the state energy ministry as it never maintained proper coordination with power generation companies. They are now engaging in a blame game,” he said.

Mumbai has not been impacted by the shortage as the financial capital including as it gets power from private players Adani Electricity, Tata Power Company and Mumbai civic body-run BEST Undertaking.

MahaDiscom supplies power to the rest of Maharashtra and the larger Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) townships of Navi Mumbai, Vasai Virar, Bhandup, Mulund, Thane, Kalyan Dombivali and Panvel.

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