The Lonesome Road

It’s that time in Maharashtra again when promises are made, sops are given and gifts are distributed. Oh yeah - it’s election time. And in true election tradition, the farmers in our state have been promised free power. The only problem is that the rest of the state has to pay the price - both in terms of power failure and money.

In Maharashtra, the only area free from power failures (well, mostly) is Mumbai as it has an isolated grid. In case of power outrages, it is immediately islanded and thus rarely experiences loss of power. Other parts of the state are not so fortunate. In Pune, everyone knows that Thursday is “maintenance” day and the chances of 24 hour electricity are slim. Now, it’s not yet summer and the requirement of electricity is not very high. But just to give you an example - last year the electricity board (MSEB) released a time table of roling blackouts. Power would be cut for 4 days in a week for 3 hours.

The situation this year is going to be worse. Already, the demand for power has shot up to 13,000MW - this following a sharp rise in agriculural demand as the rains stopped. According to the MSEB, the state is set to experience a 3000MW shortfall from October onwards when the monsoons cease. They also feel that this additional load will cause an overload on the already taxed system, resulting in frequent breakdowns. The systems have not been renovated in the last 40 years and cannot handle the demands placed on them.

There are two basic fallouts of the free power syndrome :

1. The farmers, knowing they have free power, make no attempt to procure good pumps. Most of the pumps used are old and inefficient
2. More importantly, these pumps are left on more or less permanently. However, no efforts are made to regulate the water flow and usage. This coupled with the fact that there is no rain water harvesting or any well established method of water conservation has led to a sharp drop in the ground water level

States like Punjab and Karnataka have had to withdraw the free power scheme as things soon became unmanagable. Considering the fact that Maharashtra is in financial doldrums right now, we can’t afford to give free power.

Is anyone listening - or are all the lights out?