Bihar generates zero power at present

Saturday March 17 2007 PATNA:

It is official now. Bihar generates no power of its own, State Energy Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav has admitted. "The state's own power generation is zero at present. We have a demand of 1,500 MW and the state is getting about 800-900 MW from the central pool," said Yadav.Taking transmission losses into account, the demand-supply gap in Bihar is nearly 600 MW.According to Yadav, Bihar's two thermal power plants - at Kanti in Muzaffarpur and Barauni in Begusarai district - are under maintenance. The minister said the government was hopeful that both the Muzaffarpur Thermal Power Station (MTPS) and the Barauni Thermal Power Station (BTPS) would start functioning to full capacity soon.He blamed the previous Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) government led by Rabri Devi for not doing anything for generating power following the state's bifurcation in 2000."The government has initiated efforts to augment our own power generation capacity, but it is a time consuming process and the state will have to wait for some time before power generation starts," Yadav said on Thursday in the state assembly replying to a debate on a cut motion for his department's 2007-08 budget demand.Official sources in the state energy department told IANS Friday that power generation would start only by the year-end. The combined installed capacity of the two power plants is 540 MW.Yadav said the government has initiated a move to set up hydropower generation units in the state. Some private investors are said to have shown keen interest in the project.Besides, the state's last hope for power lies with the proposed setting up of a nuclear power plant with a 2000 MW capacity.The poor power situation is evident as power cuts are regular in the state capital even in winter. Most of the 37 district headquarters and small towns remain in darkness as they hardly get four to five hours of power supply in a day.