HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh is set to slip into a deep power crisis with the Union Ministry of Power and Natural Gas making it clear to the state that it should expect a drastic cut in the supply of gas from April this year.The power ministry communicated to the AP Transco that as against the availability of 42.67 million metric standard cubic meter per day (mmscmd), there would be a reduction of 15.03 mmscmd in 2012-13 which will put the total availability of gas in the country at 27.64 mmscmd. This would mean here will be a significant proportionate cut in supply to Andhra Pradesh too. The projection for 2013-14 is even more bleak--there will be a further reduction by 3.42 mmscmd.“We have received orders just now. We have to calculate how much it works out for our state. But one thing is clear: we will have to face difficulty. There will be less supply of gas than now,” AP Transco chairman and managing director Ajai Jain told Express.As it is, the gas that the state is getting is very little. As against the total requirement, only 75 percent was allotted, of which only 42 percent is being supplied (about 6 mmscmd). This will further go down from next financial year, stretching the supply system to the limits in the state. As summer advances, there is tremendous pressure on power supply across the state. This apart, the agricultural sector is drawing 30 percent of power available, leaving power utilities high and dry.The agricultural load would continue to be a drag on the system till the the third week of April when Rabi season ends, providing some relief. Till then, it will be difficult days for people.According to officials, the APTransco has received a communication from Delhi that there was a fall in gas output and therefore they should expect further reduction in supply. The communication said there would be a further decrease by 3.42 mmscmd. Of the total installed gas-based power generation capacity of 2,700 mw, only 1,500 mw is being utilised for want of gas. When the further blow is delivered and supply goes down, there would be a further shortfall of about 500 mw units.As of now, the state is depending only on thermal power since all the hydel units have been shut down with water level in reservoirs going down. Even purchasing power form other states is becoming difficult not only because of financial constraints but also due to technical problems. The present network can allow transmission of only 1,000 mw power from North to South and not more.As if this is not enough, power utilities cannot resort to overdraw without paying heavy fine. Earlier, there used to be no fine and some states which were perennially starved of power used to draw heavily from the grid, though AP never did it. As overdraw was leading to grid becoming weak, it has now been decided to charge the drawing state more to discourage overdraw. So, the state cannot overdraw either. “The demand is 200 million units per day and there is a deficit of about 45 m units.”
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