Power demand in the state surged by over 5,000 MW on Thursday. Demand touched 17,313 MW this year, compared to 11,874 MW last year. Madhya Pradesh, a power surplus state, will take additional power from Punjab and Uttar Pradesh to ensure uninterrupted supply in rural areas amid a widening gap between demand and supply.
Minister Gautam Tetwal released a video appealing to the CM to address the issue. The gap between demand and supply has compounded the government’s challenge ahead of Rabi season. Farmers remain the worst hit and paddy irrigation has been affected by erratic supply with the demand expected to rise further as wheat sowing begins. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national general secretary and Khargone MP Gajendra Patel and Khandwa MP Dnyaneshwar Patil have written to chief minister Dr. Mohan Yadav. In the last cabinet meeting, over a dozen ministers flagged the issue. Navratri is underway, and the government has failed to ensure supply.
Now over 50,000 people are on the streets.
Congress leader Mukesh Nayak said, “BJP always accused Digvijaya Singh government of failing on power availability. Energy minister Pradhuman Singh Tomar said, “The generation was also hit by technical glitches and efforts are on to restart non-operational units.”
“To ensure sufficient electricity availability in the state, 500 megawatts (MW) of power is being sourced from Uttar Pradesh during peak hours, and efforts are underway to procure electricity from major power exchanges in India including Punjab. Consequently, an additional 3,000 to 4,000 MW of power is expected to be available from next week, which is highly likely to resolve the current electricity shortage,” the minister said. The demand, which was expected to increase in November, rose a fortnight earlier due to deficient rainfall causing low hydel generation, coal shortages, and technical snags at thermal plants, said a senior officer in the power department.
