Odisha energy minister Pratap Deb rules out power-cut, says tripping causing power outages
By Nalini Sahu
Bhubaneswar, May 31: Odisha energy minister Pratap Keshari Deb on Wednesday dismissed the allegation of power-cuts in the state. He said the reports of sporadic incidents of power outage were results of tripping, a technical problem that occurs due to infrastructural issues.
“Why should we have power-cuts when we have surplus power with us? Sometimes power trips happen because of the electrical circuit getting overloaded beyond the prescribed limit. When the current exceeds the rated capacity of the wiring, it can get damaged or create a fire hazard. In order to prevent an actual fire from taking place, a circuit trip occurs. We promptly address such issues and restore power supply to the consumers within the shortest possible time,” said Mr Deb.
Sharing the performance of his department after a review meeting by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the energy minister said with the present generation contracted 8,065 MW, the state is able to meet the average peak hour power demand of around 5,400 MW.
“The Union government has appreciated Odisha for the increase in average duration of power supply in rural areas of the state from 30.13 hours in 2019-19 to 23.22 hours in 2021-22. This is better than the national average of 20.5 hours,” said the minister.
Mr Deb said the aggregate transmission and commercial (ATC) loss had been brought down from 30.57 per cent in 2018-19 to 18.12 per cent in 2022-23. Similarly, 4.11 new connections have been provided and 5,100 consumer grievances were redressed online through the Mo-Bidyut programme.
On the state government’s focus on renewable energy generation, the minister informed that the Renewable Energy Policy 2022 had fructified and the share or renewable power had increased 2.74 per cent in 2018-19 to 10.10.7 per cent in 2022-23.
Nikunja Bihari Dhal, principal secretary of state energy department, answered various questions of the journalists. Other senior officers of the energy department were also present at the press meet.
