Mounting losses of power distribution companies (discoms) have forced the Centre to press the panic button. Concerned that a part of the burden would finally fall on the Centre, the Planning Commission has sounded out state governments that are unwilling to allow discoms to raise consumer tariffs about the time bomb they are sitting on.

If it wasn't for frenetic industrial activity underway in the backwaters of Chhattisgarh, Chief Minister Raman Singh's dreams would sound utopian. But the clanging of metal and bright sparks coming out from a welder's torch at the third unit of the 1,620-mw Lanco Amarkantak power plant under construction just off the Korba-Champa highway are a clear pointer to changing times.

The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) will launch a fortnight-long agitation from May 15 to protest the acute power crisis in the state.

LUCKNOW: Taking a new electricity connection may get cheaper if UP Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) had its way. The commission has set up a study group to assess if the system loading charges can be waived. The decision comes close on the heels of a recent electricity tribunal observation that the charges are part of the overall tariff which a consumer pays.

Bhopal: Minister of State for Energy and Mineral Resources (Independent Charge) Rajendra Shukla has urged the Union government to help in the efforts to mobilise funds for increasing power generation and implementing power reforms.

Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI: Asserting that Himachal Pradesh would serve as the

By mid-2012, both Gurgaon and Faridabad can expect to have their power woes resolved. The multi-crore World Bank project for strengthening and augmenting the power distribution system of the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) will improve the existing power situation in Gurgaon, Faridabad and Charkhi Dadri.

The national Capital, which has been witnessing frequent power cuts for the last few days, will receive an additional 100 MW of electricity from Central power generating stations. Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Thursday directed to immediately release the additional power to Delhi.

LUCKNOW: In a major decision to improve power scenario in the state, the state government has cleared two new power projects of around 2,450 mw and also approved refurbishment and upgradation of the ongoing Parichha Thermal Power Project consisting of two units of 210 mw each.

This was decided at a cabinet meeting presided over by chief minister Mayawati here on Tuesday.