Most of the southern and western States, and even the normally surplus States in
the north-east, are now going through a major power crisis. Power generation has
suffered because of poor hydel storage, thanks to a truant monsoon. Compounding
the problem, States that usually come to the help of large consumers in such a
predicament have themselves run into difficulties in thermal generation on account
of vagaries in coal supply. As a result, States like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka and Kerala have to contend with a major-shortage. In Tamil Nadu, there
is no power cut, officially, but unscheduled load shedding is freely resorted to.At the national level, the gap between power generation and demand has been
widening steadily, and it is due not a little to the persisting slippage in targeted
addition to the generation capacity during the last two Plan periods. Power-deficit
Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, which have been regularly buying power from the
Central undertakings, could not do so this year because their neighbours, who are
also in distress, happen to draw their full entitlement from the regional grid. Also,
none of the power trading corporations has been able to make up the shortfall. The
result: power outages, tripping, power cuts, and unscheduled load shedding for a
few hours every day.
If the supply side of power position is thus beset with severe constraints, the
demand side has its own quota of problems for the power managers and
administrators. While the overall shortfall in electricity demand for the country is
placed at 15-20 percent, the shortfall faced by several States in peak demand now
is reported to range from 20 percent to 30 percent. Specifically, following the sharp
rise in the price of diesel, there has been a big jump in demand from consumption
by the farm sector.
Confronted as they are with heightened difficulties on both supply and demand
fronts, the State Electricity Boards are constantly working on contingency plans to
tide over the crisis and fondly hoping that the monsoon will revive and fill the hydel
reservoirs before long. The authorities would do well to use more purposefully the
grid structure and the consultation mechanism that already exist. Some restrictive
measures may be inevitable, but the least the consumers expect is transparency.
Whether it is staggering supply, rotational load shedding or any other, prior
intimation to the user-group will surely go some way in mitigating the hardship.
(470 words)
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it using
recognizable abbreviations (Min. 4) wherever necessary. Use a format you consider
appropriate. Supply a suitable title.
(b) Write a summary of the passage..........
Answers
Answer:
Most of the southern and western States, and even the normally surplus States in
the north-east, are now going through a major power crisis. Power generation has
suffered because of poor hydel storage, thanks to a truant monsoon. Compounding
the problem, States that usually come to the help of large consumers in such a
predicament have themselves run into difficulties in thermal generation on account
of vagaries in coal supply. As a result, States like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka and Kerala have to contend with a major-shortage. In Tamil Nadu, there
is no power cut, officially, but unscheduled load shedding is freely resorted to.At the national level, the gap between power generation and demand has been
widening steadily, and it is due not a little to the persisting slippage in targeted
addition to the generation capacity during the last two Plan periods. Power-deficit
Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, which have been regularly buying power from the
Central undertakings, could not do so this year because their neighbours, who are
also in distress, happen to draw their full entitlement from the regional grid. Also,
none of the power trading corporations has been able to make up the shortfall. The
result: power outages, tripping, power cuts, and unscheduled load shedding for a
few hours every day.
If the supply side of power position is thus beset with severe constraints, the
demand side has its own quota of problems for the power managers and
administrators. While the overall shortfall in electricity demand for the country is
placed at 15-20 percent, the shortfall faced by several States in peak demand now
is reported to range from 20 percent to 30 percent. Specifically, following the sharp
rise in the price of diesel, there has been a big jump in demand from consumption
by the farm sector.
Confronted as they are with heightened difficulties on both supply and demand
fronts, the State Electricity Boards are constantly working on contingency plans to
tide over the crisis and fondly hoping that the monsoon will revive and fill the hydel
reservoirs before long. The authorities would do well to use more purposefully the
grid structure and the consultation mechanism that already exist. Some restrictive
measures may be inevitable, but the least the consumers expect is transparency.
Whether it is staggering supply, rotational load shedding or any other, prior
intimation to the user-group will surely go some way in mitigating the hardship.
(470 words)
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it using
recognizable abbreviations (Min. 4) wherever necessary. Use a format you consider
appropriate. Supply a suitable title.
(b) Write a summary of the passage..........