'Dry' Uttarakhand to cut power for up to 15 hours

DEHRADUN: In an unprecedented move, Uttarakhand Power Corporation Ltd (UPCL) invoked force majeure and imposed power cuts ranging from 35 minutes to 15 hours after deficient monsoon rainfall reduced river flows and hydropower generation, widening the gap between electricity demand and supply across the state. Heavy industries in Kumaon and Garhwal faced the longest outages on Sept 21-22, while Haldwani recorded the shortest cut of 35 minutes.UPCL managing director PC Dhyani said Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (UJVNL) was generating substantially less power this Sept than a year earlier. “Last Sept, generation during peak hours was 1,094MW, which has come down to 912MW this year because river flows have declined,” he said, putting the average shortfall at around 170MW.UPCL put Uttarakhand’s current daily power demand at around 53 million units against supply of about 48 million units, leaving a gap that has necessitated scheduled cuts across consumer categories. The daily base load requirement in Uttarakhand is around 2,700MW, of which nearly 1,000MW is supplied by the state-owned hydropower plants, meeting around 50% of the demand. The remaining is sourced from the central grid and power exchanges, which offer power generated from different sources, including hydro, thermal and solar.Supply from the central grid has also fallen. Dhyani said peak-hour allocation dropped from 426MW last Sept to 338MW this year, while two units of THDC Ltd’s hydropower project in Tehri Garhwal remained shut because of technical problems and were expected to return to service within a month. This has affected the supply of around 100MW.Coal-supply disruptions affecting thermal plants elsewhere in the country have further tightened availability on power exchanges. “Even after offering around Rs 10 per unit on the exchange, we are able to secure only about 2% of our demand,” Dhyani said.Since Sept 19, UPCL has staggered outages by consumer category. Heavy industries in Kumaon and Garhwal faced 15-hour cuts on Sept 21-22, rural Kumaon around 2 hours 40 minutes, and rural Garhwal about three hours, while Haldwani saw cuts of about 35 minutes.With festive-season demand and Haridwar Ardh Kumbh ahead, UPCL has sought additional supply from the central grid — 100MW in Oct, 150MW in Nov, 300MW in Dec, 400MW in Jan, 300MW in Feb and 175MW in March. It has also restarted a gas-based power plant that will supply around 90MW.Dhyani said field units had been asked to postpone maintenance or carry it out during scheduled outages so consumers did not face additional disruption.Stay updated with the latest Dehradun news. Download the TOI App.