Andhra Pradesh: Thunderstorm hits power generation at NTPC

Visakhapatnam: Parts of north coastal Andhra Pradesh had to go without power since early hours of Tuesday following disruption in power generation in four units of NTPC. Officially, NTPC said the power grid tripped due to thunderstorm which occurred at 3.15 am on Tuesday following which all the four generating units (4x500 mw) had to be shut down.

Restoration works were taken up on top priority. Power was restored to Simhachalam within half an hour where Chandanotsavam was being held.Units 1 and 4 were lit up by noon, units 2 and 3 at NTPC were restored a little later. Sources said that power generation in all the four units commenced in the evening. Sources said power generation was also affected at the Hinduja National Power Corporation Limited as well. And this was the first time that the power generation was disrupted at such a magnitude (2,000 MW of NTPC plus 1,000 MW of Hinduja).

As an alternative arrangement, around 25 MW of power was drawn from the central grid, Vizianagaram, Gajuwaka and Vemagiri substation. According to officials, the state draws 900 MW from NTPC Simhadri and the entire supply was used for Visakhapatnam district. He said they procured electricity from alternative sources to meet the shortage. Power supply was restored in the GVMC area within half an hour and in the rural area supply was restored in phases by 8 am.

Power situation in districts

Kurnool

YSR District has been facing unscheduled power cuts of two hour in urban and three hours in rural areas from March 1. Two units of RTPS are shut down due to coal shortage. Rabi Farmers affected.

East Godavari

Despite coal shortage in the state, the newly carved out districts in the Godavari region have no power cuts. Only on Tuesday they faced some problem due to failure of power grid in Simhachalam.

Ongole

Only 670 MW of power is being supplied as against demand of 702 MW. Many parts are experiencing unannounced power cuts of over one hour. 12 hr power holiday declared for industries.

Srikakulam

Power supply is interrupted for at least two hours in a day in urban areas and 3-4 hours in rural areas.

Power situation in Visakhapatnam, Anakaplle and Alluri Sitarama Raju districts is good. Except occasional breakdown for few minutes, per se there are no power cuts.

Power generation at Damodaram Sanjivayya Thermal Power Plant (GENCO) in Nellore is normal and there have been no interruptions