(Source: today's TOI, e-paper link here which might not be active for long)
No wonder then that the spectre of load-shedding and power cuts looms large in the summer, which is almost here. Last year, eastern suburbs like Bhandup and Mulund suffered power cuts of close to 4 hours every day with neighbouring Dombivli and Ambarnath going through a nightmarish 7-8hours of power cut. Unfortunately, this year promises nothing different.
The notion of "24x7" power for Mumbai is a myth which, at best, is restricted to a few western suburbs and of course, the island city. And as compared to the treatment that all the other cities in Maharashtra get, Mumbai looks like a spoilt child.
So, how do our three power companies (Reliance Energy, Tata Power and BEST) meet this shortfall? By buying it from other states and the Central Government. The good news then is that all three companies have firmed up sourcing agreements for meeting this shortfall. Albeit not entirely. As the chart shows below, unmet requirement will reach 200MW in June which could imply power cuts for the city, unless the companies firm up this shortfall till then.
The bad news is that this extra power will come at a cost. And a very high cost.
BEST additional general manager S A Puranik said early planning and procurement deals ensured Mumbai would get adequate power to cope with the demand. “But we will be paying a high price of Rs 9 per unit for power purchased from outside. It is almost three times the cost of power generated by city utilities,’’ [Source]So, if you thought that rising food and fuel prices were your only concerns, get set for a higher bill, and perhaps even power cuts this summer. Batti bandh now?
5 comments:
Did you or anybody you know participated in Earth Hour? I am curious about the level of care/apathy among the people in general. Your blog on the BWSL was excellent. The same thoughts about urban planning foresight and vested interests keep hovering on my mind. I wonder if there is anybody/institution with enough financial clout and civic sense to envision a better Mumbai. The rate at which flyovers have been built combined with the mania to own cars (without the necessary traffic sense)has just made Mumbai more congested and should I say uglier.
Avid - Thanks for the comment and your kind words. Earth Hour wasn't taken up by anyone in Mumbai like batti bandh was, except for the cursory mention in the newspapers. There are enough institutions with clout, etc. but there doesn't seem to be any will from the leaders that be to implement any plan. Mumbai is indeed getting uglier by the day, but its economy and its people seem to be thrusting ahead!
The graph depicting demand and supply is kind of misleading (not actually misleading). On first glance I thought that our demand is ~ 5 times the supply but then I looked at the scale and you have truncated it below 2000MW which gives it unnecessary shock value.
Anon - I've readjusted the scale to 0. Thanks for the comment.
Hi Bombay Addict, my name is Leo and I'm a journalist with Time Out Mumbai. I'm doing a piece on infrastructure hobbyists and I'd like to speak with you about your interest in Mumbai in general and the Bandra Worli Sea Link in particular. My email address is leo [at] paprikamedia [dot] com. Please email me your phone number so we can chat. Many thanks.
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