Bihar sees power shortage amid NTPC plants shutdown; officials deny reports

Bihar, especially the rural areas, has been facing power shortage following the shutdown of three NTPC units for the past few days. The state was getting around 900MW less power than its average daily power availability of 5,500MW from the central sources following shutdown of three NTPC units due to annual scheduled overhauling and technical snag in unit 1 of the Barh super thermal power plant (STPP), said officials.

“There is no shortage of power to Bihar as compared to other states like Uttar Pradesh. We are offering 4600 MW power to Bihar of which the state was drawing only 3,300MW on Monday afternoon,” said an NTPC official.

The shortage, if any, said the official, was only between 7pm and 11pm, when Bihar’s peak load demand is going up to 5,500MW during the last couple of days.