Power cuts to continue in Odisha till June 2016

Bhubaneswar: Power cuts in Odisha will continue till June 2016 due to shortage of water in various reservoirs in the state, Energy Minister Pranab Prakash Das said on Saturday.

"We are facing a shortfall of 500-550 MW because of a drastic fall in hydro power generation triggered by the declining water level owing to scanty rainfall. Therefore, we have no choice but to continue power cuts till June," Das told media persons here.

The minister said the state is now getting about 1750 MW of hydro power against the usual 2085 MW due to falling reservoir levels.

He also said that keeping in view the emergent needs and future scarcity, the state government has to be visionary and save maximum energy accordingly.

"If it does not rain adequately over the next one month, the situation is going to turn really precarious," the minister warned.

Das said power cuts were a national phenomenon as even states like Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka were facing loadshedding.

While the urban areas would experience power cuts of 2-3 hours in a day, rural pockets would have 3-4 hours of loadshedding in different phases in a day, said sources.

Energy secretary Suresh Mohapatra said the peak power demand in the state has touched 4000 MW while it is facing a shortfall of 400-500 MW.