GUWAHATI, May 4 � Assam perhaps will need to go for load shedding to make up for the shortfall of around 150 MW of power during the coming days, until the onset of the monsoon, said sources in the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) here.
As per a very recent estimate, the present peak load hour power demand of the State is around 1,000 MW (900.79 MW, to be precise). It has been overdrawing around 150 MW of power from the Eastern Grid of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). But this has now been restricted to 50 MW.
On the other hand, one 50-MW unit of the State's Karbi Langpi Hydel Power Plant is shut down for repairs, for the past about 10-15 days. The repair of the unit is expected to be completed within a month's time.
These two factors have resulted in a shortfall of 150 MW of power, sources said.
The State is to get around 250 MW of power from its own Lakwa, Namrup and Karbi Langpi projects. It is to receive around 650 MW of power from the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO), National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC).
The shortfall in power supply will force the State to go for load shedding and under such a situation, each of the urban areas will undergo one hour load shedding in a day on an average. However, industrial and commercial areas would be tried to be subjected to minimum load shedding, said the sources.
According to a power sector document, domestic consumers constitute 75.17 per cent of the State's total 11, 12, 074 power consumers. Commercial consumers constitute 11.45 per cent of the State's power consumers, while public lighting constitute 0.05 per cent of its total consumers and public water works constitute 0.13 per cent of the total consumers.
The rural small industries constitute 0.46 per cent of the total power consumers of the State, while the urban small industries constitute 0.31 per cent of its consumers and the High Tension (HT) category-I (having the connected load varying between 50 KVA and 150 KVA) industries constitute 0.06 per cent of its consumers and HT category -II (having the connected load of above 150 KVA) industries constitute 0.03 per cent of its total power consumers.
The Government educational institutions in the State constitute 0.01 per cent of its total power consumers, the document said.
Meanwhile, according to the sources, the ASEB and its successor companies have decided to pay monthly electricity allowances at the rates of Rs 500, Rs 300 and Rs 200 to their officers and employees, depending on their official status. This arrangement has been made to replace the previous system of providing 50 units free of cost to its officers of the rank of executive engineer and above categories and 30 units free of cost to their other officers and employees.
As per the previous system, each of the ASEB officers and employees also used to get up to 200 units of power at concessional rates, on top of the above arrangements of free units.
The employees of the Board and its successor companies have now been demanding that the above allowances should be paid to them as reimbursements. The Board and its successor companies have around 12,000 officers and employees, said the sources.
