Uttarakhand, where Ganga and Yamuna originate, runs short of river water; state power grid announces power cuts up to 15 hrs due to lower monsoon rainfall

Uttarakhand, the state that gives birth to two of India's holiest rivers, Ganga and Yamuna, is now struggling to keep the lights on. Uttarakhand Power Corporation Ltd (UPCL) has invoked force majeure and announced power cuts ranging from 35 minutes to a staggering 15 hours, after weak monsoon rainfall reduced river flows and hit hydropower generation across the hill state.

The cuts, staggered by consumer category since September 19, have hit heavy industries the hardest. Units in Kumaon and Garhwal faced the longest outage of 15 hours on September 21 and 22, while Haldwani got off comparatively easy with a 35 minute cut. Rural Kumaon saw around two hours 40 minutes without power, and rural Garhwal about three hours.

Why has a river-rich state run out of power?


The problem, according to UPCL managing director PC Dhyani, comes down to falling river flows. "Last September, generation during peak hours was 1,094MW, which has come down to 912MW this year because river flows have declined," Dhyani said, as quoted by TOI, putting the average shortfall at around 170MW.

This has widened the gap between what Uttarakhand needs and what it has. The state's daily demand stands at around 53 million units against a supply of just 48 million units. Hydropower plants owned by the state normally supply close to 1,000MW of the state's 2,700MW base load requirement, roughly half the total demand. The rest is meant to come from the central grid and power exchanges.

But that support has thinned out too. Peak hour allocation from the central grid dropped from 426MW last September to 338MW this year, Dhyani said. Adding to the strain, two units of THDC Ltd's hydropower project in Tehri Garhwal have been shut for technical reasons, cutting off another 100MW. Those units are expected back within a month.

Buying extra power from exchanges hasn't offered much relief either. Coal supply disruptions hitting thermal plants elsewhere in the country have tightened what's available on the open market. "Even after offering around Rs 10 per unit on the exchange, we are able to secure only about 2% of our demand," Dhyani said.

What is being done to fix the shortfall?

With the festive season and the Haridwar Ardh Kumbh approaching, both of which typically push up power demand, UPCL has already placed requests with the central grid for additional supply through the coming months, ranging from 100MW in October up to 400MW in January, before tapering to 175MW by March.

The power corporation has also restarted a gas based power plant expected to add around 90MW to the grid. Meanwhile, field units have been instructed to postpone routine maintenance or carry it out during the already scheduled outages, so that consumers aren't hit with disruptions on top of the existing cuts.

For now, the state that sends river water flowing down to power much of north India is having to ration its own electricity, with no quick fix in sight until the hydropower units at Tehri Garhwal come back online and the extra central grid supply starts arriving.

Inputs from TOI