Jamshedpur: City continue to feel the pinch of power crunch on Tuesday as scorching weather coupled with load shedding made life difficult for the residents of the city. Power supply was restricted due to a breakdown in Tenughat Vidyut Nigam Limited ( TVNL).
One unit of the station developed a snag due to which it had to be closed, resulting in a crisis in JSEB command areas.
The heat has only added to the people’s agony as several industries, households, and all other sections of society are reeling under the impact of acute power shortage.
Power shutdown these days stretches beyond the schedule by at least six or eight hours during the day. Electricity department officials say the situation is bound to improve in the future.
For about a fortnight erratic electricity supply, to the AIADA based industrial units, has caused immense business loss to the owners. On an average, the Adityapur industrial units are incurring financial loss of upto Rs 4 crore daily.
The areas under JUVNL like Jugsalai, Sundernagar, Baridih, Karandih, Baghbera and some parts of Kadma are also facing acute powercrisis.
Officials of Adityapur Small Industries Association (ASIA), informed that small and medium units, especially those, which do not have captive power generators, are the worst sufferers.
The worst thing is that factory operators do not know beforehand when power will be off and for how long, so that they cannot plan production hours.
Several pockets in the steel city and its outskirts serviced by Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB) Singhbhum supply area have been experiencing frequent power cuts since last night due to supply restrictions from Central Load Despatch (CLD).
The worst hit were Mango, Sundernagar, Parsudih, Govindpur and several other localities on the outskirts of the city. Residents complained they were being forced to go without power for a prolonged time.
Sources at the Central Load Despatch, which supplies power to the city and its fringe areas, said TVNL was unable to generate adequate power leading to the crisis. The unit which is functional was producing about 200 MW of power. Both Golmuri and Gamharia power grid sub-stations were facing shortfall. Sources in the CLD said the Golmuri sub-station had 15MW while its Gamharia counterpart about 60MW in peak hours.
Under normal circumstances, the Golmuri power grid sub-station gets a supply of 25-30 MW, while the Gamharia grid sub-station, which supplies power to the adjoining Adityapur Industrial Area, gets about 90MW.
“We have huge orders from Tata Motors and other industrial houses. Moreover melting of scraps or cutting rods to size requires regular heating process for hours. Once furnaces get cooled due to sudden electricity failures, they need huge electricity and time to regain the required heat,” conceded another entrepreneur.
Officials of JUVNL Jamshedpur area said, that a major chunk of the power from Tenughat is not being transmitted to the area this has resulted in acute power cut. The situation is expected to normalise from tomorrow. “One unit of TVNL is not functioning for sometime so we are receiving less supply as per requirement at the Gamharia grid,” said an official from Jamshedpur.