Power supply shortfall at 9% during July: Report

KOLKATA: Data released by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) revealed that power supply shortfall during July touched 9.1%, while the actual demand was estimated at 85,504 million units. The power units managed to supply 77,731 million units and shortfall touched 7,773 million units during the month.

The highest shortfall was in the southern region which saw a shortage of 12.5%. While demand in the region was estimated at 23,000 million units, availability was about 20,117 mu and the region witnessed a shortfall of 2,883 million units.

Highest shortfall in South was at Andhra Pradesh which witnessed a deficit of 17.2%, followed by Karnataka at 14.3% and Tamil Nadu at 9.1%. Low grid capacity in south India has resulted in less power to flow from other areas into the region as a result power prices for the region always remains the highest.

In percentage the second highest deficit was in the northern region which saw a shortage of 11.3%. While demand was estimated at 29,580 million units, the power generators managed to supply 26,250 million units to the region. Absolute shortfall was 3,330 million units in the region during July.

States in North that witnessed long hours of load shedding were Jammu & Kashmir - at 24.7% shortfall, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 17%, and Punjab at 11.7%.