The Odisha government on Monday directed power distribution companies to ensure power supply to domestic and commercial users on a priority basis so that people, reeling under a severe heat wave, get some respite.

As many as 27 districts recorded temperatures above 40 degree Celsius while many parts of the state sizzled at 38 degrees Celsius. At Jharsuguda, the mercury soared to 42.6 degree Celsius on Monday. Bolangir simmered at 44 degree Celsius.

In view of the heat wave condition, all government and private schools will remain closed in Odisha for five days starting from Tuesday.

Complaints are pouring in from across the state about unscheduled power cuts making life miserable. The Odisha energy department admitted that there was power deficit and said it was a temporary phenomenon. “It emerged that the present deficit is a temporary situation. Peak power demand has gone up by almost 10 per cent due to the hot weather conditions,” tweeted the energy department.

Chief secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra on Monday held a meeting with different stakeholders, including power generation units, power distribution companies and coal suppliers. “As the temperature has soared high and the examination of the students would commence shortly, the distribution companies have been asked to ensure power supply to domestic users and commercial establishments on priority basis,” he said.

Odisha government has also directed the Mahanadi Coalfields Limited to ensure supply to all power-producing units in the state so that their production capacity does not get affected during the summer. Officials said that Mahanadi Coalfields had been asked to supply adequate coal to the independent power producers (IPPs) and improve the quality of the supply to Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC). “All power producing companies have been asked to fulfil their power obligations to the state without fail. We have also asked the railway authorities to increase the rack availability for transportation of coal to thermal power stations,” said an official.

A mechanical snag at NTPC’s Darlipali unit in Sundergarh district, which has affected production, has made the situation worse.

“With the sudden outage of one 800MW capacity unit of NTPC’s Darlipali power station and non availability of adequate power in the exchange, limited load regulation has become unavoidable. Efforts are being made to minimise the inconvenience to the consumer,” energy department tweeted.

The distribution companies have been asked to make optimal use of hydropower.

Odisha Hydro Power Corporation has been asked to increase production. Though the state’s total hydropower production capacity is estimated at 2,099MW, it is only producing 556MW from seven hydropower plants in the state. On the other hand, Odisha’s peak-hour demand from 7pm till 11pm has been estimated at 5,200 to 5,400MW while the state generates 48,00MW from different sources such as thermal, hydro, power purchase from independent producers, central sectors, power banking and renewable energy.