Power Minister Piyush Goyal has said that an additional four hundred Megawatt of power is to be generated in the national capital by this evening. Mr Goyal said, NTPC under the Central government has agreed to release as much power as required by Delhi to bring in some relief.
The Power Minister was addressing a press conference in New Delhi this afternoon after holding an emergency meeting with Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and other top officials to discuss the ongoing power crisis.
Expressing concern about the problems being faced by the power sector during the last 12 years, he accused Congress and Aam Aadmi party for politicizing the issue. He said the Congress government which ruled the city for past 15 years was insensitive to the growing demand of the people of Delhi.
The power outages have triggered protests by various political parties. Congress as well as Aam Aadmi Party have been targeting BJP for the power cuts, saying the Central government cannot escape responsibility.
Meanwhile, more than 20 Aam Aadmi Party MLAs today staged a protest outside Union Minister Harsh Vardhan's house in East Delhi demanding urgent steps by the Centre to improve electricity supply in the city.
The Lieutenant Governor had on Sunday issued few directives to control the current power problem which included
snapping power supply to malls after 10 PM.
Mr Jung had also ordered that high mast halogen lamps in the streets, which consume more power, should be switched off during night peak hours to conserve energy.
Delhi Government establishments, including Delhi Secretariat and other government offices, universities, colleges have been advised to switch off air conditioning between 3.30 and 4.30 PM to conserve power during day peak hours.
Mr Goyal said the lack of decision making and infrastructure development, planning and policy paralysis have created the power crisis in the city. He said that the recent storm in Delhi has also damaged a large number lines and transmission grids which have added to the woes.
