The state electricity department has said that there will be a loadshedding three times in a day and that to for a period of two to two and a half hours.The deficit today will be 500 to 600MwThe government urged people to keep their Acs switched off between 6pm and 10pm and also to keep the neon lights off for advertisement.It also asked farmers not to use pumps between these hours.This will save approximately 850Mws of power.
On Friday mid afternoon,when mercury crept up to a record of 40.1C,four degrees above normal,the power shortfall had reached 1,150 MW in the worst crisis in a decade.While the city battled a 305MW deficit,the state board areas,including Salt Lake and IT hub at Sector V,had a shortfall of 845MW.So big was the gap between demand and supply that it found a desperate Power Minister Nirupam Sen contemplating’consumption control’.But the power minister made it clear that this was a national crisis and the government couldn’t possibly buy electricity from other states.Every state is going through a crisis.We are exploring all possible ways.But we don’t expect the situation to improve before May,”he said.”Even if we run at optimum capacity,there will be a shortfall of over 600 MW to 700 MW.We generate only 3,100 MW,while CESC generates 1,250 MW.While the shortfall in CESC areas was 305MW,the state board areas had a 845-MW deficit,”one of the power officials said.Apart from the shortfall in coal supply and low generation in the central sector,snags at one of the thermal units at Santaldih had forced long power cuts across the state.
Kolkata continued to sizzle under a scorching sun for the third consecutive day Monday as the mercury rose over 40 degree Celsius.
The streets were deserted in the afternoon as high humidity level added to the discomfort factor. The weatherman has ruled out any chance of a norwester - a type of storm which leads to cooling late afternoon at this point of the year - within the next day or two.
“Today (Monday) the forecast is, maximum temperature will hover around 40 degrees Celsius and the sky will be partly cloudy,” a duty officer at the Meteorological Office told IANS.
“There is no possibility of any norwester in a day or two,” he said.
Power cuts and a water crisis made the Monday morning further unpleasant as long queues of people with buckets and jars were seen at deep tubewells and street taps installed by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
The city has been under a heat spell for the last two days. The mercury level touched 40.8 degrees Celsius Saturday, five degrees Celsius above normal.
The situation became more suffocating Sunday, as the maximum temperature soared to 41.2 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature in the city in April in the last 14 years.
Ice-cream and juice sellers are making a quick buck with thirsty city dwellers lining their shops to get some comfort from the sweltering heat.
An air conditioner dealer in south Kolkata said his business has gone up since Saturday. “Enquiries have doubled and sales have registered an increase,” he said.
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