New Delhi: State-run NTPC will supply 325 MW of electricity from June 1, 2014, to Uttar Pradesh which is reeling under acute power shortage amidst soaring temperatures in the state this summer. "UP has requisitioned power to the tune of 325 MW from NTPC which will be supplied to the state from June 1 to June 7," a company official said.
The northern state has been facing acute power crisis since last week, generating a lot of political heat. UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has alleged that the central government is not making available enough fuel for the power companies in the state.
However, Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal has said: "Whatever assistance the state government requires we are happy to provide." In a letter to Goyal, Yadav has said: "Of the total 6,200 MW sanctioned to the state from central pool, state is only getting 4,200 MW. Before the Lok Sabha polls, state was given 5,200 MW power in this head. Yadav also alleged that Rajasthan, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh were given more power than needed by them and they were earning profits by selling it.
He sought an end to this practice and demanded more power to the state. He also said that the more coal supply is needed for the power projects in the state. Goyal had earlier said that "we have supplied adequate quantity of coal to power plants in Uttar Pradesh as per the linkage. We have also offered the state government to buy power from the northern grid". The availability of power from the Central Generating Power Stations (CGPS) to UP is also normal, Goyal had said.
Meanwhile, BSP supremo Mayawati also joined the issue hurling charges against the ruling party in the state that power supply has been restricted to native villages and parliamentary constituencies represented by SP. People in the state, meanwhile, have been sweating in the soaring temperature levels. Allahabad recored the highest temperature 46.7 degree Celsius. They took to streets in various parts of the state demanding immediate power restoration. Yesterday, BJP protested at 30 district headquarters against the crisis. The peak demand in Uttar Pradesh is to the order of 12,700 MW. The state gets 10,700 MW, leaving a shortfall of around of 2,000 MW at present.
