From Friday, industries across Maharashtra will receive power round the clock, seven days a week.

The State, which was under sever power shortage since 2002, has managed to make a slow turnaround and since early January load shedding has been minimal. Peak power demand is about 14,500 MW, while supply is about 13,500 MW.

As a direct result of improved supplies, industries have been asked to withdraw their staggered weekly off. Industries in the State will get continuous power for the first time since the formation of the State in 1960.

A senior official in Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) said that Mr Sharad Dabhade Director (Operations) of the company, in a recent directive to all the Chief Engineers, has asked load shedding to be suspended to all the industrial areas in the State from Thursday midnight.

The MSEDCL is the distribution arm of the former Maharashtra State Electricity Board. It is the largest electricity utility company in the State, which supplies electricity to 1.86 crore consumers in the State.

The official said the State which was reeling under acute power shortage since 2002, today has enough power due to deft demand side management. Over last four years measures like single phasing and separate power feeders for agriculture and domestic supply have paid off.

Maharashtra has 41,000 villages, of which 30,000 use pumps for watering the fields.

Due to separate power feeders for agriculture pumps MSEDCL has been able to control the demand. “Between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. in the evening, when the demand touches its peak, power is not supplied to the pumps. It helps cut down demand by 2,000 MW. This power is then supplied to domestic and industrial consumers,” the official said.

Since January, firm supply of over 1000 MW from Dabhol plant, additional supply to the State from the Central quota and cheap power from independent power producers have given MSEDCL the confidence to withdraw load shedding, the official said.

> rahulw@thehindu.co.in

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