(BS)
At a time when the country is reeling from power crisis, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has urged the states to have a relook at their energy planning. This is to ensure 24 hours of quality power to the industry and the people.
Indicating that the crisis is a major roadblock for the development of jobs and the industry, she said, “We should all take a call so that electricity shortage should not come to anyone, anywhere. Electricity should be there and it should be at a reasonable rate.” The minister also urged the states to look at both renewable and non-renewable sources of power.
The country had seen its worst power crisis in several years by the end of April with a maximum demand of 204.65 Gw on April 28 and energy shortage of 192 MU. Several states, including Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, UP and Bihar even faced blackouts. Based on the May 10 data, the country is seeing a demand of 191 Gw and energy shortage of 14.45 MU.
