With no immediate sings of state’s perpetual problem of power scarcity getting resoled is in sight, Bihar government is demanding higher allocation from the power plants in the state. For example, state’s current allocation from Barh Stage I project is 26.42% or 523 MW as against which the state government is demanding 50% allocation amounting to 990 MW. Similarly, the state government wants 50% allocation from Kahalgaon TPS as against the current allocation of 6.67% or just 110.7 MW.
It is not just the higher allocation from state’s thermal power plants, Bihar is demanding higher share from the upcoming hydel projects in the neighbouring countries, Bhutan and Nepal, too. The state government is demanding at least 1500 MW power from PunaKangchu 1 & II (2500 MW) hydel projects in Bhutan. The project is likely to be operational by 2016-17. Bihar wants allocation of 250 MW power from upcoming Aruna-3 project in Nepal which is expected to be commissioned in 2016-17. Around 700MW will be available for India from Aruna-3 which would be transferred through double circuit line to 400KV substation of Muzaffarpur power grid.
Bihar government is also complaining about non-availability of promised allocation of power from Central Sector Generating Units to the state. While the allocation from Central Sector Generating Units to the state is 1,834 MW, state is getting just 900 MW. Shortage of coal and breakdown of various units of NTPC are the main reasons for lesser availability of electricity. Further, forced shut down of the Farakaa STPS, from which power is allocated to the state, in the lean period due to the diversion of Ganga water to Bangladesh is only helping in aggravating the power crisis in the state
