Bhubaneswar: Odisha has been experiencing power cuts despite electricity surplus, admitted a Minister in the Assembly today.
Power outage takes place in several parts of the State due to various reasons, such as infrastructure development work, technical problem, equipment repairing and maintenance, said Rural Development Minister Sushant Singh during the Question Hour in House in the absence of Energy Minister Dibya Shankar Mishra.
Odisha is a power surplus state. In 2018-19 fiscal, there was a record peak demand of 25468 million units (MU), while 27633 million units were produced from various sources in the State, informed the Energy Minister to the Assembly.
Mishra further said that 7073 MU is consumed by the industries and 7503 MU is used for domestic purposes, and Odisha sells 12,767 MU to other states.
There has been a tremendous increase in the number of energy consumers in Odisha since 2000. The State had 19 lakh consumers in 2000, which has now increased to 96 lakh, the minister said.
The State Government will take steps in order to ensure 24-hour power supply to all medical colleges, he added.