Ranchi, July 25: A power-starved Jharkhand today earned an extra 100MW supply from the central pool for bailout as a roof collapse incapacitated its key power utility at Tenughat late last night.
The reprieve came after Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB) chairman S.N. Verma met Union power ministry officials in New Delhi and demanded increased allocation to meet the crisis that had plunged parts of Ranchi, Gumla, Simdega, Khunti, Lohardaga, Seraikela-Kharsawan, West and East Singhbhum, Garhwa, Chatra, Latehar and Palamau into darkness.
“Power generation from Tenughat Vidyut Nigam Limited (TVNL) has come to a virtual halt after the accident late on Sunday. I am in Delhi and have met officials from the power ministry. Following discussions, allocation for Jharkhand from the central pool has been raised to 550MW from the current 450MW,” Verma told The Telegraph over phone.
Sources said around 9pm yesterday, the roof of TVNL’s ash handling plant collapsed, severely damaging around 20 motor pumps and a crane. The roof had been in a dilapidated state with no repairs for quite some time while the monsoon had further weakened it.
Following the accident, the lone unit that had been generating 200MW had to be shut down. The other unit has had remained shut since May 18 after four towers on the Biharsharif section, which carries power from TVNL to Patratu via Bihar, collapsed in heavy rain.
Verma said as part of alternate arrangements, the Sikidiri hydel plant was being run to generate 120MW. One unit at Patratu thermal in Ramgarh is generating 40MW while JSEB is now drawing 550MW from the central pool. Yet the total 710MW falls short of the average demand of 900MW.
TVNL general manager R. Sahu refused to comment, but sources said it would take at least a month to restore normal supply. “Removing the roof debris alone will take a long time,” a source added.
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