TNN Sep 6, 2011, 06.22am IST
KOLKATA: Brace for regular, or shall we
say "rotational", power cuts in the city. West Bengal Power
Development Corporation Ltd (WBPDCL) has drawn up a roster for shutting down
its three power stations as coal companies have cut down supply to the state
agency. They have threatened to reduce it even further unless the Mamata
Banerjee government pays up Rs 590 crore in dues immediately.
This roster will be sent to Writers'
Buildings soon. But more importantly, WBPDCL's decision will force state power
utility West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (WBSEDCL) to
prepare its load-shedding schedule because the shortage of coal supply will
directly hit power generation.
The ultimatum sounded by WBPDCL has
reached Writers' Buildings already, but no respite has been offered by the
Mamata Banerjee government as the state finance department has thrown in the
towel, saying it can't shell out anything for the moment.
Coal companies have cut down on supply
over the past two months because WBPDCL, which is the major power supplier to
the state utility, has been unable to pay for the coal. The supply has come
down from 18 rakes a day to 10. Things have come to such a head that WBPDCL
will now have to shut down the power stations. All five - Kolaghat, Bakreswar,
Bandel, Santaldih and Sagardighi thermal power stations - will be shut down
during various parts of the day, thus supplying less power every day.
The 'shutdown' roster will directly
impact power supply and, in turn, make WBSEDCL draw up its own load-shedding
schedule.
Power utilities have been going through
an abject funds crunch from the beginning of the current financial year as the
state government refused to revise power tariff in accordance with the coal
price hike from April 1. This alone has led to a loss of Rs 500 crore for
WBSEDCL.
Moreover, chief minister Mamata Banerjee
- who recently gave up the power portfolio to Manish Gupta - refused to allow
the power utility to apply to West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission
(WBERC) for the standard annual tariff revision. This would entail another Rs
2,500 crore subsidy for the power utility. But the state finance department, to
which the power department has applied for the required subsidy, has already
thrown in the towel, saying it doesn't even have anything to spare.
So, brace for acute power cuts like in
the 1970s and early-'80s. After becoming a power surplus state by the mid-'80s,
West Bengal is now walking backwards on the power front.
