BHUBANESWAR: Faced with criticism by opposition parties and people over frequent power disruptions amid blistering heat wave conditions across Odisha, the state government on Thursday once again clarified that there was no power cut and the issue was mostly localised.
Energy minister Pratap Keshari Deb on Thursday said, “There is a difference between power regulation and power tripping. There is no shortage of power to meet the demand of the state. Disruption in power supply occurred due to technical snag at local level and thunderstorms.”
Deb gave the clarification when media persons questioned him on frequent power cuts across the state despite his assurance there will be no load-shedding this summer in view of adequate availability of electricity. Admitting that power tripping is happening, the minister said the electricity supply gets snapped due to overloading, burning of the transformer, puncture of an insulator due to excess heat and other technical reasons.
With thunderstorms occurring in many places in the state, the transmission and distribution infrastructures get damaged due to lightning and high-speed wind. Restoration of the power supply takes time and sometimes several hours. The state government has issued instructions to the distribution companies to be ready with adequate manpower and material for the immediate restoration of power.
The minister said there is availability of 8,065 MW while the state’s peak demand is around 5,400 MW. The central government has appreciated the state for the increase in the average duration of power supply in rural areas which is better than the national average. The aggregate transmission and commercial (AT&C) loss had been brought down from 30.57 per cent in 2018-19 to 18.12 per cent in 2022-23, he said.