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Who’s responsible for Maharashtra power crisis? BJP points to rift in MVA, which blames Centre

BJP has attributed load-shedding to ‘internal issues’ between coalition partners Congress and NCP. MVA govt, however, is pointing finger at Modi govt, and an increase in demand.

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Mumbai: With Maharashtra reeling under the twin effects of a heatwave and electricity cuts this month, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has placed the blame for the power ‘crisis’ on rifts within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)-led state government.

The BJP has alleged that differences between the Congress, which has the energy portfolio, and NCP, which holds the key to state finances, have resulted in load-shedding and power outages.

“The internal issues between the Congress and NCP are the reason why funds are not getting released for the energy department… that’s why the (state electricity) company’s cash flows have gone for a toss and that’s why there is load-shedding,” Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who was state power minister in the previous government led by BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis, claimed earlier this month. He repeated similar allegations in a press note Wednesday.

 

While Congress ministers and legislators have complained about not receiving sufficient funds from the NCP-controlled state finance department, the two parties have rejected the BJP’s charges, blaming the Centre for a coal shortage instead.

The Maharashtra government had, in 2012, declared the state to be free of load-shedding, except in places where consumers fail to pay their bills regularly.

The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has, however, been resorting to some planned and temporary power outages over the past month, citing the early onset of summer, inadequate coal supply, and a huge jump in the demand for power post the Covid-19 lockdowns.

Notably, there has been no load-shedding since 23 April, although many parts of Mumbai experienced two power outages this week due to transmission lines tripping.


Also Read: Soaring mercury, long power outages & more — why ‘coal shortage’ has states & Modi govt squabbling


Blame game heats up

Bawankule had alleged earlier this month that the MSEDCL does not have the money to purchase coal or even float a tender in the open market to buy electricity.

This, he attributed to the NCP not releasing money for the energy department, thus necessitating measures like load-shedding.

In his fresh press note released Wednesday, Bawankule also criticised the MVA government for “passing the buck” to the Centre about coal shortage.

He pointed out that in 2015, the Modi government had given permission to take coal from Chhattisgarh’s Gare Palma mine and the paperwork was completed by 2019, when Bawankule was power minister. He claimed that since the MVA government came to power in November 2019, it hadn’t mined any coal from Chhattisgarh.

“The government is completely inefficient and passing the buck to the Centre. This mine would have produced 4,000MW of electricity but because of the internal party crisis, the MVA government did not utilise the mine at all,” Bawankule said.

Bawankule’s contentions come on the back of Congress MLAs complaining that they felt like a third wheel in the coalition MVA.

Congress leader and state power minister Nitin Raut has blamed the Centre for the coal shortage, but he has also criticised various state government departments for their pending electricity bills.

The MSEDCL has Rs 64,093 crore worth of arrears from all categories of consumers — residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural — extending also to government departments like rural development and urban development.

ThePrint tried to reach Raut multiple times through phone calls and text messages, but is yet to receive a response.

Spokespersons of the Congress and NCP did not respond to allegations of rifts between the two parties, but seemed united in blaming the Centre for not providing enough coal.

“The power crisis is not just in Maharashtra but also 10 to 12 other states because the government of India could not make coal allocations on time… coal has nothing to do with the state government,” NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapse said, pointing also to increased demand for electricity due to the “harsh weather”.

Atul Londhe, chief spokesperson of the state Congress, made similar arguments.

“Coal supply belongs to the central government and Maharashtra is not alone in facing this crisis. Load-shedding is happening everywhere, including Gujarat. UP is also supplying four hours of electricity. This is a flaw of the central government,” he alleged.

Extreme summer, supply shortage causing crisis’

An official from the energy department told ThePrint that the power crisis stemmed from the early onset of summer, which caused a surge in power demand right from February, and also due to a spike in industrial activities post lockdowns.

Over the last two months, Maharashtra has already grappled with three heatwaves, with the fourth one currently ongoing in Vidarbha.

“Normally the state requires 18,000-19,000MW of electricity every day, but his time it has gone up by up by 20-odd percentage points. The current demand is between 24,000-26,000MW daily,” an energy department official said, in reference to power demand during the summer months.

According to energy department officials, there was load-shedding across the state, except Mumbai, from 28 March to 14 April for about one to one-and-a-half hours.

To meet the rising demand for power, the Maharashtra cabinet on 8 April approved the purchase of 760MW of power from Coastal Gujarat Power, a subsidiary of Tata Power, but it has not solved the problem. Load-shedding has continued intermittently in the state, although since 23 April there has been none, with the MSEDCL being just about able to meet peak demand.

However, with the mercury expected to rise even higher in the coming month, energy department officials say demand can rise to as high as 28,000MW per day.

(Edited by Asavari Singh)


Also Read: Power crisis looms in Punjab as coal shortage hits plants amid summer demand surge


 

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