ANGUL: Ironical as it may seem, Talcher which supplies power to 17 states of the country has been reeling under prolonged power cuts for the last two months ever since Tata Power took the reins of the Central Electricity Supply Utility (CESU).
The town has been suffering from frequent power outages and power cuts that even have extended to over 15 hours at a stretch in a day, making life miserable for the people.
Locals said the problem started after Tata Power took over electricity distribution work from CESU in June. The situation gets worse during rain or storm.
BJP leader Jajati Pattnaik, who submitted a memorandum to the sub-collector in this regard said it is a travesty that the region which houses two power plants of NTPC is facing the crisis.
He urged the State Government to intervene and resolve the issue as soon as possible.
Sub-divisional officer of Electricity department Manoj Pani attributed the reason for power cuts to staff shortage. He said power distribution in the area is being done by CESU staff at present as workers of Enzen are yet to join Tata Power.