The people of Delhi heaved a sigh of relied when the power supply was entrusted to Tatas and Reliance.  Six years down the line, the power woes of the metropolis continue unabated.
 
The real issue of regular power supply is getting mired in the blame game being played among the major power players, the distcoms, the government, Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission—DERC  and the politicians.

As of now, the apprehensions of the Delhi citizens regarding the onset of scorching summer months appear to be coming true. There appears to be a beginning of a long, powerless summer for the capital. It is reported that the capital’s own aging and illuminated power plants have started tripping even before the summer has set in.

Delhi’s annual power demand is increasing at the rate of 6 to 7 percent whereas the city’s power generation capacity has not been able to match the growing demand. This has resulted in frequent breakdowns, tripping and long-drawn outages.

Power experts reveal that there is an urgent need to overhaul the city’s power generation system. Unless it is done, the power woes will refuse to go away.
"You can't depend on outstation power plants to meet more than 50 per cent of your requirement. Unless this situation is reversed, Delhi's power situation will continue to remain grim," said a Central Electricity authority official on condition of anonymity.

Power plants need to be shut down regularly to take up repair and maintenance work. There is no alternate power supply system dedicated to meet the city’s power requirements.

It has been reported that the power shut down on Wednesday was caused by a technical snag at NTPC's Badarpur thermal power station (BTPS).  This resulted in a short fall of 500 MW in the city.

Badarpur plant with its installed capacity of 704 MW of power is also in an urgent need of repair.

“If we shut down the plant, it will cripple the power supply in the city. Shutting a unit for planned maintenance takes about 40 days," said a senior power department official.