‘UPPCL to blame for power cuts’

VARANASI: The Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL) blames Lucknow system control of UP Power Corporation Limited for increased frequency of power cuts in the region.
As per the records of electricity department the city area of Varanasi receives power supply of over 19 hours while the consumers claim that the city witnesses frequent power cuts even after scheduled and emergency rostering.However, the PVVNL officials denied that local faults caused frequent power cuts in the city.
The chief engineer (Varanasi) PVVNL Sunil Kumar clarified, “We are capable of maintaining power supply only in those hours when there is supply from Lucknow control. No power cut is taking place due to local fault.” According to officials, the hours for scheduled rostering fixed by UPPCL for Varanasi are between 3 pm and 5 pm only and power cuts occurring other than these hours are done on the order of Lucknow control as emergency rostering. The duration of emergency rostering is not fixed and on many days it might go up to four-five hours.
After the Prime Minister Narendra Modi won parliamentary elections from here the Bharatiya Janata Party demanded the state government to make the city free from rostering. The demand was considered by the chief minister Akhilesh Yadav when BJP MLA Shyamdeo Roy Chaudhury went on hunger strike in May. The city remained rostering free till June 30. But, since July 1 the rostering started again in the city. Though, the power officials declared only two-hour rostering schedule, the city continued facing power crisis as massive power cuts started in the name of emergency rostering.
According to SDO (transmission) Ramanand Chauhan, the demand of Varanasi city ranges from 360 MV to 400 MV while the power demand of rural areas of the district is 115 MV. The records show that the rural belt, which should get power supply for minimum 10 hours, gets not more than eight hours. Due to poor monsoon the demand for power supply had increased in rural areas for irrigation. But, the electricity department is not able to fulfill this demands of farmers.
If the PVVNL sources are to be believed except Allahabad and Azamgarh, other areas especially Varanasi and Gorakhpur are the easy points for emergency rostering. After the power crisis increased in the state due to closure of 500 MV power generation units at Anpara the frequency of emergency rostering has increased. The officials expressed hope of some improvement in power scene after the completion of repair works at Anpara.