UP turns brighter, 1.38 crore power connections given in four years

Lucknow, 22 March (HS) :    With a resolve to bring electricity to each and every village of Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi government is all set to augment power generation of 8262 MW in the next two years through new thermal power plants. Apart from this, many of the 4000 MW solar projects in Bundelkhand of the state will also start power generation during this period.

According to the UP Power Department officials, the plan is afoot to increase the power generation in the state within due time. Along with this, 1.38 crore power connections have been given in the last four years. Notably, for the first time in the state, the government has brought an end to the VIP culture by bringing ‘uniformity’ in power supply throughout the state. This is in contrast to the previous regime when the proper power supply was limited to ‘only five districts’ and that too at the cost of the remaining districts.

 A spokesperson of the Yogi government says that the people of the state have observed that during the rule of the SP and the BSP governments, the home districts of the top leaders of these parties were ensured round- the-clock power supply. “Now the scenario is changed and the roster of electricity supply is scheduled for 24 hours at the district headquarters, 22 hours at the tehsil headquarters and 18 hours in the villages with no power cut in the rural after sunset, the spokesperson said.

The officials of Power Department say that as per the plan formulated by the state government to increase the power generation in the state, six new thermal power plants will start generating 7,260 MW of power by March 2022. Out of this, 1,320 MW power generation will start from this year only. With the commissioning of new thermal power projects in UP, the capacity of the state’s production houses will increase to 12,734 MW. This includes generation of 9,434 MW UP State Power Generation Corporation and 3300 MW from Joint Ventures. Among the new thermal power plants that will increase the power generation capacity of the state, Meja power plant is the main one. Two 660 MW units are being built at Meja from the Joint Venture of Generation Corporation and NTPC at a cost of Rs 12,176 crore. Its 660 MW unit was commissioned in April last year. 660 MW power generation from the second unit will start this year.

Similarly, 660 MW power will be generated from Harduaganj power plant costing Rs 6,011.83 crore. Production in this power plant will start from this year itself, the officials added.

According to the power officials the under-construction two units of  660-660 MW each of Obra-C at a cost of Rs 10,416 crore will start by March 2022. The Jawaharpur thermal project being constructed at a cost of Rs 10,566 crore will also start  generation in its two units of   660-660 MW each by March 2022. The three units of the under-construction Joint Venture with Generation Corporation and NLC India Limited at Ghatampur have also been targeted to start from May 2022. The project, costing Rs 17,237.80 crore, will generate 1980 MW of power, they said.