Mumbai: The state government Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Board (MSEB) was dissolved and merged into four companies, marking its 17th anniversary tomorrow, Monday. In these 17 years, the demand for electricity in the state has increased tremendously. In comparison, the three major companies face challenges such as old transmission lines, coal shortages in power generation and losses in power distribution.
Following the dissolution of the old MSEB, three companies were established on June 6, 2005, namely Mahanirmiti (Power Generation), Mahapareshan (Power Transmission) and Mahavitaran (Power Distribution). MSEB Holding Company was established as the parent company of these three companies. Mahapareshan has maximum power lines of 400 KV. But since these lines are old, their maximum carrying capacity is 600 MW. The company is facing the challenge of replacing these channels with new ones on the occasion of its 17th anniversary. If new lines are laid, their carrying capacity can be increased from 800 to 1000 MW. Four such channels bring electricity to Mumbai. According to him, the maximum daily capacity of electricity in Mumbai is 2,400 MW. But Mumbai’s daily demand is between 3,300 and 3,800 MW and it is increasing. To overcome this crisis, Mahapareshan has also planned to increase the capacity by installing additional conductors on the power lines in Mumbai.
The installed power capacity of Mahanirmiti is about 12,000 MW. Of that, 9,000 MW is coal based. Recently, the company’s thermal power generation was reduced to 5,500 MW due to coal shortage. But then it went back to 6,500 MW. Even so, owning one is still beyond the reach of the average person. While celebrating the anniversary, it will be imperative for Mahanirmithi to turn to sources other than coal, including power generation at full capacity.
Mahavitaran at a huge loss
The company ‘Mahavitaran’ has the most contact with the general public. The company is currently facing a huge loss of Rs 60,000 crore due to the mountain of arrears. More than half of the arrears are in the agricultural sector. The company has to buy more electricity from outside at a higher rate while meeting the growing demand for electricity. Solar to overcome this; The company also faces the challenge of completing important agreements in the near future to maximize wind power purchases.
In May, the state’s electricity demand had reached a maximum of 28,000 MW. To meet this demand, the three companies of the energy department worked hard and succeeded. ‘Mahapareshan’ met such huge demand for electricity without any load on the lines. This became a record.
– Dr. Dinesh Waghmare, Chairman and Managing Director, ‘Mahapareshan’
