Odisha Faces Frequent Power Outages; Know What Minister Says

Bhubaneswar: Despite the Odisha government’s announcement that there will be no power cut during summer, the state has been reeling under frequent disruptions in electricity supply amid grueling heat.

Though norwester rains have brought some respite from the searing heat, erratic power cuts have compounded the woes of people as the temperature remains high in many areas.

Energy Minister Pratap Keshari Deb had recently given an assurance that there will be no power cuts during summer months. However, there have been complaints from many urban as well as rural areas about frequent power outage.

Giving a clarification on the issue, the Energy Minister dismissed the allegation of power cuts and said disruptions in electricity supply occurred due to power trip.

“There is no shortage of electricity supply. In many places, overload leads to power trip. The power supply is getting snapped due to overloading on transformers following excess demand during peak hours,” he said.

While admitting that there had been power outages in some parts of the state, the Minister said there is no power cut, rather it is power trip which is happening due to electric overload.

He said power got tripped frequently in Saileshree Vihar and VSS Nagar areas of Bhubaneswar where 33 KV wire failed to bear the load recently. The demand for electricity is increasing with soaring heatwave and as per the government report, the highest demand for electricity consumption was made on April 20 in peak hours since independence, Deb claimed.

Noting that when a 33 kv power gets tripped, it takes 6-7 hours to address the issue in Bhubaneswar, the Minister said it is time consuming as the restoration work is done manually. Similar is the situation in rural areas where staff take a little more time to change the wire after getting complaints.

Stating that all necessary steps are being taken to ensure uninterrupted power supply across the state, the Minister said instruction has been issued for quick redressal of grievances made by the consumers, while  action is being taken on war footing to resolve power related issues.