Power shortage in Haryana, but temporary: Minister

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Chandigarh, April 12

Power Minister Ranjit Singh today admitted that there was a temporary shortage of power in the state.

Holding a press conference today, Singh said, “Yesterday, there was a demand of 6,500 MW power, but only 5,700-6,000 MW was available.” Parts of the state are reeling under power cuts.

To get better soon

The Khedar unit had to be stopped due to boiler leakage which will be fixed soon. We will be in a comfortable position in the coming days. PK Das, ACS power

Ranjit Singh added that there was a dispute with Adani Power over the supply of 1,400 MW.

“If you compare it with the previous year, there was a 20 per cent rise in power demand on April 11. The long dry spell in March and this month has increased demand,” said ACS Power PK Das. He added that the dispute with Adani Power was due to rise in price of imported coal. “They wanted to raise the price. We are objecting to that,” he said.

However, Ranjit Singh said that with the start of one unit of 600 MW and another 250 MW unit in Panipat, the shortage would be met.

“The Khedar unit had to be stopped due to boiler leakage which will be fixed soon. We will be in a comfortable position in the coming days. We are in talks with Adani Power. The dispute will be resolved,” said Das.

Meanwhile, Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president Kumari Selja lambasted the BJP-JJP government over power shortage. “The state government has failed to get its share of electricity from big power suppliers as per the power agreement made earlier. There was no demand for electricity from them. The operators of these power companies are very powerful and they have direct association with the top people in the central government and BJP. In such a situation, the state government is afraid to ask for the rights of Haryana from them,” alleged Selja.

Selja said that at present, no area of the state, whether urban or rural, was untouched by power cuts. Wheat harvesting season is going on in the villages and after working hard in the field for the whole day, farmers are unable to sleep peacefully at night due to power cut. The power situation is similar in the cities.”