Sikkim pays Rs. 4 crore more per month to stave off national power crisis from reaching here

GANGTOK, 11 Dec: The power crisis which has gripped the country has had a tremendous impact in almost all the states and Sikkim too has not remained untouched. However, with the State government willing to go the extra mile to ensure that the end consumers are not affected by the national supply crises, the people here have remained largely unaffected. The question now is for how long the government can go on cushioning the impact of the crises? It is already costing the government an extra Rs. 4 crore a month to ensure that power cuts are staved off.

The ongoing coal supply crisis in the country, largely due to heavy rains in coal producing regions and the Telengana agitation which has led to blockading and disrupted coal supply to power generating units of the National Thermal Power Corporation from which Sikkim imports its coal quota, has resulted in widespread power cuts in major cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.
In fact, power supply in these and other urban centres is available only about 6-7 hours a day. This is because the power crisis has resulted in a shortage of supply of coal to thermal power generating units resulting. This has hit industries tremendously as well. NTPC has already raised a red flag stating that shortage in coal supply was hurting power production in a large number of its plants across the country.
The people Sikkim and Gangtok in particular have not drastic load-shedding yet because the State government is shelling out more money to meet the increased price of power because of the spike in coal prices. All in all, the Sikkim government, it is informed, is now paying Rs. 4 crore more per month than what it is normally billed by the NTPC.
Power Secretary, AK Giri confirmed that the state government was now paying Rs. 22 crore per month towards importing electricity. This figure, until the coal supply crisis hit thermal power generation in the country, was Rs. 18 crore per month.
The Secretary also informed that this increased money was being paid by the department from the revenue it has generated. He also assured that, as of now, there was no move to pass on the hike to the end consumers by way of increasing the rate of electricity in the state.
Most states in the country reeling under the crisis have raised the rate of electricity. In some states the rate of electricity has almost doubled to enable the respective state governments keep up with the increased price of coal. Sikkim imports 67 MW worth of power from NTPC and while the earlier price was Rs. 3.80 per unit, the State is now being billed at Rs. 4.50 per unit. This steep rise, inform officials, is being managed through the revenue the Department has earned through Power Trading.
Power-trading essentially involves the exchange of power from utilities with surpluses to utilities with deficits.
Officials inform that the State is willing to pay more as it does not desire widespread load-shedding like in other states.
The winter months create a new situation with demand going up and the generation at the few state-run hydel projects scaling down due to the lower volumes in Sikkim’s rivers and streams, a situation worsened this year by the earthquake damage [read the piece below for details].


Earthquake damage and dry Winters bring down generation at State-run hydel projects to Nil

GANGTOK, 11 Dec: While the entire country suffers a power crisis due to disruptions in coal supplies, Sikkim is dealing with its own energy ‘crisis’ at the moment. The drying up of the kholas during the present dry season, aggravated by the recent earthquake which has damaged much of the power generating assets of the state government, has obliterated the state’s capacity to generate electricity. The damage caused by to the 18 September Earthquake to power stations here is to such a large extent that almost the entire power generating capacity at plants run by the Power & Energy Department has been washed out.
During the summer months, the State requires 50 to 55 MW of energy and this goes up to 70 - 75 MW during the winter months. Most of this energy is imported.
Officials inform that the normal power generating capacity of the state-run power units is 12 Mega Watts. This has come down to almost nil with the state managing to generate barely 1 MW at present.
While it is normal for the power generation to decline during the winter months, this time, things have rarely been this bad primarily due to damage at power stations due to the September earthquake. Officials inform that the power generating capacity has been severely affected by the landslides and has led to several units including the one at Lower Lagyap to close.
The situation is now such that the entire requirement of power is being imported.
The State government has sought relief under immediate restoration measures but such is yet to arrive from the Centre. The Power Department had estimated damages to state-owned power projects to the tune of Rs. 261 crore, out of which power projects in north Sikkim alone have suffered damages estimated at Rs.  100 crore.
All four [state-run] hydel projects in north Sikkim have suffered major damages with power generation suspended in all of them. These projects are the 3 MW  Lachen Stage-2, the 200 KW Lachung power house and the 3 MW Rabom Chu situated above Chungthang. The 4 MW Meyong Chu near Singhik is also damaged. The damaged components of these projects include the power houses, water conductors, pipes and transmission towers and supply lines.
The 66 KV line at Melli Dara is also reported to be damaged along with numerous 11 KV lines LT distribution lines in different regions.