From a lurking danger, power shortage promises to emerge as a real issue in the common capital for the Telangana and Andhra States, to severely jeopardise the development dreams whetted by the election manifestos of all political parties.
While the power scenario is by no means rosy even now, the problem is only going to worsen in the coming years. Calculated as per the conservative estimates of 20 per cent load growth every year, the power requirement over the next five years for Greater Hyderabad alone is set to go up to 5,000 MW.
Major contributors However, considering the growth the city is poised to witness, the requirement may as well swell up to 8,000-10,000 MW.
Major contributors to the requirement would be the prestigious Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) project and Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) project under construction, not only for their intrinsic power needs, but also for the hectic growth activity they would foster.
While a lot of stress is being laid over the development of infrastructure to meet the projected demand, little attention is paid to the power availability, central discom officials complain.
“Power generation is in 60:40 ratio between Andhra and Telangana regions. Of the total allocation to CPDCL, 50 per cent is used up by the city as of now.
Once the bifurcation is complete, one major task for the government would be to feed the gigantic development machine of the common capital. Telangana is sure to fall short by about 1,500 MW,” an official, says off the record.
Abnormal growth GHMC area is now using up about 50 to 60 million units per day, amounting to about 2,200-2,500 MW load. Considering the abnormal growth in all the three categories — industrial, domestic and commercial - expected in the years to come, no amount of power would be enough for fuelling the city.
Unless assured a dedicated power plant for itself, the city seems destined to eat off its rural counterparts. Chances appear bleak for the launch of the Hyderabad Metro Combined Cycle Power Project proposed at Shankarpally with 1000 MW capacity. After more than a decade’s delay, it may never take off, say officials.
“There are problems of gas linkages if it is to be gas-based. Thermal project is ruled out as the area has seen burgeoning growth over the past decade, and pollution will be a major concern. For all practical purposes, the project is shelved,” says an official.
The much vaunted grid connectivity is yet to reach its full potential, he says. So far, only one connection is functional in the place of the three or four required, allowing flow of only 200 MW.
