Maharashtra Electricity Sector and Basic Electrical Concepts
MahaTransco LDC candidates must know the state's power structure and elementary electrical quantities used in day-to-day office work.
Sector structure
- MahaGenco handles generation; MahaTransco is the State Transmission Utility, formed in 2005 when MSEB was unbundled; distribution licensees such as MSEDCL supply consumers.
- MERC is the state regulator; CERC regulates inter-state matters. The State Load Despatch Centre operates the grid.
- MahaTransco's EHV network runs at 400 kV, 220 kV and 132 kV, with substations, transmission lines, protection and communication systems.
Basic concepts
- Ohm's law: V = I × R.
- Power: P = V × I (single phase); for three-phase, P = √3 × V × I × cos φ.
- Energy: kWh; 1 unit = 1 kWh. India's supply frequency is 50 Hz.
- Transformers step voltage up for transmission and down for distribution; they work on AC only.
Worked example
A 2 kW heater runs on 230 V for 5 hours. Current I = 2000/230 ≈ 8.7 A. Energy = 2 kW × 5 h = 10 kWh = 10 units. At ₹8 per unit the cost is ₹80. Reasoning: kW is power, kWh is energy - multiply power by time before costing.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating kW and kWh as the same thing.
- Using the single-phase formula for a three-phase load (missing √3 and power factor).
- Confusing the roles of MahaGenco, MahaTransco and MSEDCL.
- Assuming a transformer changes frequency - it does not.