Power dept meets highest demand of electricity since Independence: Min

Bengal government on Tuesday met the highest demand of Power at 9,024 MW which is the record since Independence. The demand for Power has gone up with mercury soaring across the length and breadth of the state.

The usage of air-conditioning machines has also gone up. A press statement issued by the Power minister Aroop Biswas on Wednesday said: “There was a demand of 9024 MW on Tuesday which is the highest demand of Power in the state since Independence. We are proud to announce that under the leadership of Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, we have been able to meet the record demands of Power and managed to ensure an uninterrupted power supply to 2.22 crore consumers.

“The last time the state registered the highest demand of Power was on August 17 in 2022. During that time, the demand had gone up to 7,832 MW in a single day.”

The West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited (WBPDCL), West Bengal State Electricity Transmission Company Limited (WBSETCL) and West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) worked hand in hand to meet the huge demand and secure uninterrupted power supply.

WBSEDCL has already opened a 24-hour control room to report any problem related to power supply anywhere. Control numbers are — 8900793503 and 89007 93504.

Incidentally, CESC also met the highest demand of Power at 2,524 MW on Tuesday. Intermittent load-shedding was reported in various parts of the city and adjoining areas for the past few days which were CESC areas.

State Power minister Biswas held a meeting with the senior CESC officials at Vidyut Unnayan Bhawan where he issued certain instructions to the CESC.

The CESC has been asked to make arrangements of adequate transformers and high-power DG sets. During Tuesday’s meeting, CESC was also told that electricity personnel should be kept ready everywhere.

After the city witnessed power outages on Tuesday, local residents blocked the road near Alochaya-Mor in Beleghata on Tuesday morning due to harassment and suffering from load-shedding.

Locals claimed that a large area of Mahatma Gandhi Road has been without electricity since midnight on Monday.

In protest, local residents blocked the road in front of the Haridevpur Post Office from Tuesday morning.

TMC MP Shubashis Chakraborty went to the spot after receiving the news. Agitation was lifted following his assurance.

Locals claim generators are sent to try to handle the situation. But they were of no use. From Beleghata to Haridebpur, Jodhpur Park to Purbachal, including a few pockets in Central Kolkata, load-shedding occurred in different parts of the city in this scorching heat.

A transformer caught fire on Sunday morning. An attempt was made to bring a generator to deal with the situation. But it is alleged that nothing has been done.