By IANS,
Chandigarh : Though unable to meet the current peak demand of a little over 300 MW of power for the union territory, the Chandigarh administration plans to make arrangements for the supply of another 1,000 MW by 2018 to cope with the rising demand.
“Efforts are under way for long-term tie-ups with some central power projects to ensure uninterrupted power supply to Chandigarh. Looking at the power needs of the UT (union territory) in the next 10 years, the Chandigarh administration is making arrangements for the supply of another 1,000 MW by 2018,” Chandigarh’s Finance-cum-Engineering Secretary Sanjay Kumar said Wednesday.
The power requirement of Chandigarh has been increasing rapidly in recent years with fast economic growth, especially in trade and business, service sector activities and also the domestic consumption.
The maximum power utilisation in 2006 was around 200 MW while it touched a peak of 318 MW July this year.
The administration is expecting the demand to go beyond 400 MW by 2011-12 with the city emerging as a big hub in north India for business, government, trade, education and health sectors.
Kumar said the administration has already initiated efforts to meet future requirements and it is in touch with 15 power projects, including those in Haryana, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Orissa and others states, to sign power purchase agreements (PPA).
The 3,000 MW Dibang power project in Arunachal Pradesh will allocate 500 MW electricity to Chandigarh once it is completed in 2017-18. The Mahalaxmi mega-thermal power project in Orissa will supply another 150 MW.
The administration has already signed PPAs with 20 new central generating projects of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and National Hydro-Power Corporation (NHPC) for allocation of 221 MW power to Chandigarh. The supply will start within three years, officials said here.
Chandigarh, a 114-square-km UT which is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana and has no power generation of its own, gets over 265 MW power from 24 power generating stations.
Compared to a demand of 150 MW per day in 2004, it has gone up to 300 MW.
The per capita power consumption in Chandigarh has risen to 1,500 units, nearly 100 per cent more than the neighbouring states.
The expenditure on power purchase, which aggregated Rs.285 crore in 2005-06, touched Rs 410 crore in July 2009.
Since last week, the administration has introduced rotational power supply cuts ranging from one to two hours in different parts of the city.