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`For the first seven days, power from the eastern region was unavailable, while for the last three days, the State-owned Pragati power station was not able to despatch power to the distribution companies.'

NEW DELHI, July 11

THE blackouts in Delhi over the last ten days since the privatisation of the Delhi Vidyut Board were not the fault of the new distribution companies, according to Mr Jagdish Sagar, Chairman and Managing Director of the State-owned Delhi Power Supply Company.

Mr Sagar was the Chairman and Managing Director of the Board till it was privatised ten days ago, when the State ceded 51 per cent stake to BSES Ltd and Tata Power. Delhi Power Supply Company is the transmission company, which purchases power from the generators and sells it to the distribution companies. Mr Sagar today defended the private distribution companies, BSES Ltd and Tata Power, which have been at the receiving end of the public and media ire following incessant power cuts in the Capital since they took over on July1.

At a press conference jointly hosted by BSES Ltd and Tata Power, Mr Sagar listed out the reasons for the severe power cuts. For the first seven days, power from the eastern region was unavailable, while for the last three days, the State-owned Pragati power station was not able to despatch power to the distribution companies.

Delhi, which imports a significant portion of its power requirements from the neighbouring States also witnessed contracted purchase from Himachal Pradesh. From the normal levels of 220 MW, HP was exporting only around 60 MW to Delhi due to technical reasons.

The Tata Power Managing Director, Mr Adi Engineer, told th press conference that the distribution system upgradation has not been done for a long time.

"Thirty per cent of the shunt capacitors do not work and every day one to two transformers burn out since there are inadequate 400 KV sub stations. Further, it takes around eight to nine months to manufacture a transformer,'' he said.

Tata Power operates the North and North Western distribution zones in the Capital.

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