Severe power crisis cripples Uttar Pradesh, coal shortage worsens issue

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh is facing power outages as two electricity generating units tripped on Sunday, officials said on Monday. The state is facing severe crisis, the gravest in the last few years, as generation from state-owned units has gone down, officials said. [caption id=“attachment_1658511” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP.[/caption] There is a wide gap of almost 2,000 MW between the demand and supply, said the UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL). An official said they went ahead with overdrawing from the central pool after an approval from the chief minister’s office. “We were left with little option as it was the festival of Raksha Bandhan and we could not have risked blackouts,” the official told IANS. One unit each at Obra and Parischa have stopped production due to technical glitches, leading to a serious power crisis, officials said. The shortage of coal has further aggravated the crisis. PTI