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Scanty rainfall, stirs blamed for power crisis

By STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, March 12 � Frequent agitations by different organizations and shortage of rainfall are the main reasons for the present severe power crisis faced by Assam, said Power Minister Pradyut Bordoloi in the State Assembly today.

Replying to a Zero Hour question by Abdur Rahim Khan (AIUDF), the Minister said that the power demand is increasing at the rate of 14 per cent per annum, but the hydropower projects in the region are not functioning to its full capacity because of shortage of rainfall.

Giving details of the generation by the major hydropower projects, Bordoloi said that most projects, from where the State gets power, are not generating during the day time and they are generating only about 10 to 20 per cent of their capacity during the peak load period. The Ranganadi project, which has the capacity to generate 405 MW of power, generated only around 50 to 60 MW during the peak period yesterday. Similarly, the Karbi Langpi project having the capacity to generate 100 MW generated only 42 MW and the Kapili project also generated around 15 to 20 per cent of its capacity because of shortage of rainfall.

On the other hand, frequent agitations by different organizations seriously affected gas production in the oil fields of upper Assam thereby affecting the functioning of the thermal power stations. The 291 MW capacity Kathalguri project could generate only 107 MW of power yesterday, while, similar was the situation in Namrup and Lakwa thermal power stations due to shortage of gas supply, the Minister said.

Moreover, the State is not able to buy power from the market outside the region as after the grid failure last year, the Power Ministry is not allowing import of more than 400 MW . The State Government has already taken up the matter with the Union Power Ministry.

The Minister said that the hopes of the State were pinned on three major projects, but due to different reasons, the projects were delayed. He said that the Lower Subansiri project should have been completed by the end of 2012, but because of strong opposition by different organizations, the project is delayed. Similarly, the commissioning of the Bongaigaon Thermal Power Project by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) was delayed because of agitations, bandhs, violence in the BTAD areas etc. Last year, the work stopped for 110 days because of those reasons, which delayed the project. However, the project is likely to be commissioned later this year.

However, the Palatana project in Tripura is likely to start commercial generation soon and Assam would get 240 MW from the project, which would ease the situation to some extent.

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