Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday inaugurated the first unit of the 500×2 MW Anpara D thermal power station, the first project in the public sector in over two decades. The project, that was sanctioned in 2008, has been built at a cost of R7,000 crore and will provide electricity to Bhadohi, Ghazipur, Mirzapur and Varanasi, which are extremely backward. The second unit of 500 MW is also expected to start generation by July this year. The last project that had come up in the public sector was the Anpara B project in 1993.
For Uttar Pradesh, power has always been the Achilles’ heel and has been often held responsible for the state’s backwardness and lack of industrialization. The commissioning of the new project has come as a shot in the arm of the state government and especially the chief minister, who has been trying to rectify the situation. Though he has promised to provide 24-hour electricity in urban areas and 16-hour power in rural areas from December 2016, it sure seems an uphill task, given the magnitude of the problem.
UP’s present demand is 11,000 MW, which peaks at 14,000 MW in summers. Against this, its availability of power is approximately 9,000 MW, leaving a gaping shortage of 2,000 MW at present, which will spiral to 4,000 MW when the mercury touches 47-48 degrees Celsius, often leading to power riots in various parts of the state.