CHANDIGARH: Summer has come a month earlier and the predictions of dry spells are making Haryana sweat because the state has inadequate power backup. After failing to add own capacity, Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL) now cries before Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) for justice, making the situation worse.
Electricity consumers will bear the brunt of both dry weather and limited coal stock. For the past more than a week, the state requires 6,200 to 8,300 megawatts of electricity in the lean period to peak hours every evening, of which it gets only 6,200 to 6,600 MW, a daily deficit of 1,900 to 2,200 MW.
Out of the total required supply, 2,900 MW is arranged through Haryana’s own generation and the rest 3,400 MW through short-term and long-term purchase agreements. One 500 of the deficit 2,200 MW is being arranged from the other sources. As a result, the 7.32-lakh-plus electricity consumers of all categories—domestic (urban and rural), non-domestic (commercial and institutional), agriculture, and industrial—bear three to six hours of power cuts.
If this is the situation during April, one can imagine the plight of consumers in May or June, especially when there is no sight of further arrangements. Haryana’s power minister Ranjit Singh Chautala said in Sirsa and Chandigarh on Saturday that: “The state is duty-bound to ensure adequate supply and won’t mind paying more for power since the distribution companies’ profit is close to Rs 2,000 crore. The CM has talked with Adani Power to seek that the company resumes the supply from next week.”
Haryana’s 1.17 lakh industrial and 7.79 lakh non-domestic users, including the exporters, are forced to use captive power. Most of the industrial consumers are MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises) from the NCR (National Capital Region) districts of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonipat, Jhajjar, Rohtak, and Panipat, besides Karnal, Ambala, and Panchkula. The state is short of 2,200 MW, so supply to the industry and non-domestic categories is being cut for six to eight hours in rotation.
Workers scared
Using captive power has brought labour unrest to the industry and increased its cost of production. “The long layoff of the Covid-19 lockdown has made the workers fearful of closure, so they panic when power shortage stops the factories. Costlier fuel for Rs 107 a litre has shot up the cost of captive power. Industrialists cannot take to the streets, so the government should consider our plight,” said a manufacturer from Faridabad. Discoms accept that industrial power cuts are statewide. A senior official in a discom said: “We are helpless. Even after putting all categories of consumers to inconvenience, we still have a shortfall.”
Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industries president Rajnish Garg said: “The entrepreneurs always share the state agencies’ burden. In return, we want a weekly off instead of these rotational power cuts. During the cut, we want one phase to remain active to be able to do our routine administrative work. Rotational cuts impact our export commitments at a time of still competition with China. Most of our factories are ancillary units, so you can imagine the situation.”
Solar flop
Poor enforcement of the solar panel rule by Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) and the town and country planning (TCP) department has also aggravated the situation. The TCP department made solar panels mandatory for the residential plots of 500 yards and above, to reduce the load on distribution companies. The rule applies to non-commercial and institutional buildings such as schools, colleges, nursing homes, and hospitals. Lack of monitoring means that only 10 to 20% of the solar power plants work, while the rest are defunct or closed on account of costly maintenance.
Aparjit Singh of Panchkula’s Sector 6 “Except for subsidy at the time of installation, there is no benefit to the consumers who lose their roof rights, so people just don’t take the option.”
Discoms’ lack of foresight
Haryana’s electricity supply is regulated by four utilities—HPGCL the generator, Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN) the transmission agency, and distribution companies Uttari Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN). Since the BJP government took over in 2014, the state has not augmented production or procurement of power. It survives on the arrangements made between 2007 and 2014.
It has now installed thermal power stations at Khedar (Hisar), Yamunanagar, and Jhajjar. A nuclear power plant will be ready for testing by 2024. For the past two years, the state been unable to convince Adani Power and Mudra Power to resume the supply of 1,800 MW after disputes related to the cost of fuel. The state’s installed capacity is not more than 12,500 MW and its needs transformers, so even if the coal is available, power distribution will be difficult.
S K Nayyar of the umbrella body of Panchkula’s resident welfare associations (RWAs) said: “How will the state supply more electricity than the capacity? What is your backup for the transformers? The government must answer.”
