Power crisis: States promise to help Delhi



With Delhi reeling under severe power crisis, officials of nine north Indian states have promised to help it tide over the crisis.In a meeting of state officials with the Power Secretary RV Shahi, they admitted that the performance of the Northern Grid has been rather bad.They have decided to ensure that the grid frequency does not drop below permissible limits. They have also said that there will be extra power available from the Tehri project and the Rajasthan Windmill project.The states also promised not to overdraw power from the grid to ensure that there's equitable distribution of power.SC steps inThis comes a day after the Supreme Court asked the Centre and Delhi Government to explain the steps being taken to enhance power generation in the capital.A Bench of Justice Ruma Pal and Justice A K Mathur also asked them to file separate affidavits detailing the measures taken to improve the situation.Delhi currently faces a shortage of about 600 MW daily, leading to a power crisis that ranks among the worst in its history.Meanwhile, Delhi Traders say that Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has assured them that shops do not have to be closed at 7:30 pm (IST)."There is no formal notification on closing the shops at 7:30 pm. It is just a suggestion on how we can conserve power," said Pravin Khandelwal, President, Traders' Association. "The chief minister has requested us to cut down on our consumption. Even the talk of closing shops for an entire day is just a recommendation," added Khandelwal.On Friday, Delhi Power Minister Harron Yusuf had ordered closure of shops by 7:30 pm. All government offices have also been asked to switch off air conditioners by 6:30 pm till the end of July. (With PTI inputs)