Power crisis in India’s Barak Valley

• 13 years ago (2011-06-22)
• David Flin

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Frequent power blackouts combined with soaring temperatures have combined to create disturbances from the people living in India’s Barak Valley. The offices of the Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd (APDCL) were ransacked in the towns of Badarpur and Sonai in anger over the failure to provide adequate power supply.

Power supply to the three Barak Valley districts has fallen to just 39 MW. Peak power demand in the three districts is estimated by Sudhin Dasgupta, Deputy General Manager of APDCL, at 90 MW. He said that power supply since the last winter had only been 45-50 MW.

Failure to properly maintain the 132 kV transmission lines into the Barak region has been the primary cause of the problem. APDCL has been forced to draw less power through the two lines.

Dasgupta said: “There is no alternative to waiting until early next year when the first phase of the Palatana gas-based power plant in South Tripura and Bongaigoan in lower Assam start producing power.