KADAPA/HYDERABAD Aug 7 Power crisis in the state deepened further after two units of the Rayalaseema Thermal Power Project (RTPP) in Kadapa district were closed on Wednesday night because of coal shortage. The chief engineer of RTPP, Mr Krupasagar, said power generation was stopped from the third and the fourth unit leading to a shortage of 400 mw. He added that generation is likely to resume from Friday after coal supplies arrive.  Meanwhile, two units at Kothagudem with an installed capacity of 210 mw were also closed because of coal shortage. Two more units had to be shut down because of technical snags. “There is a shortage of about 1500 mw of power because of coal shortage and technical problems at the thermal plants,” said Mr Gopala Krishna, the director (Grid Operations) APTransco.

But excess power in northeastern region saved the day for Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka on Thursday. Both the states overdrew about 1500 mw from the central grid of the north-eastern region to fill up the gap between demand and availability. The energy minister, Mohd Ali Shabbir, said power cuts would continue for some more time as the inflows to Srisailam is yet to start.  “Unless hydel generation picks up, power cuts will continue. In a week’s time the dams will have enough water to start hydel generation” he added.  He instructed power officials to stick to the power cut schedule to tide over the current crisis.