Assam is reeling under severe power crisis as the shortfall in availability of power during the peak load hours is around 230 MW and it is around 170 MW during the off-peak load hours, forcing the Assam State Electricity Board to take recourse to frequent power cuts. However, the situation, ASEB sources said, is expected to improve significantly with the 100 MW Karbi Langpi hydel project back on the grid by the first week of May. The project is under shut down for annual maintenance since April 17. On the other hand, shortage of gas supply has affected generation in ASEB's Lakwa and NEEPCO's Kathalguri gas based power projects. Kathalguri is also facing a problem with its compressor. The Central sector hydel projects are also not in a position these days to supply their assured amount of power to the State due to low water level in the rivers, said ASEB sources. The power availability from the Central sector units this evening is 52.83 percent of the generated power from Kopili and 45.99 percent of the generated power from Kopili extension. Both the projects generated 99 MW of power this evening. The State received 55.65 percent of the 40 MW generated by the Khandong Hydel project, 42.7 percent of the 260 MW generated by the Ranganadi Hydel project, 55.84 percent of the 233 MW generated by the Kathalguri thermal project, 28.81 percent of the 50 MW generated in the Loktak hydel project and 15 MW from the Doyang Hydel project and 45 percent of the 76 MW generated in the Ramchandranagar project in Tripura. The State is also receiving 10 MW of power from the DLF plant in the Barak valley. The ASEB is having around 160 MW of generation in its Lakwa and Namrup thermal power stations against the peak hour demand of around 820 MW as a result of which, the State has to depend largely on the power procured from other sources to meet the huge shortfall. ASEB sources further said that until the generation in Karbi Langpi resumes, the situation is unlikely to undergo a major change. The State is also exploring the possibility of procuring 30 to 40 MW of power from Sikkim at the earliest to tide over the present crisis, said the sources. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi claimed in a Press conference that the power position has improved slightly. However, due to rise in the demand the pace of improvement is slow, he said. To justify his claim, he said that in 2001, the peak load hour demand was only 300 MW, which has now gone up to around 830 MW. "We are taking up schemes with an eye on the future power demand. After a few years, the scenario will improve considerably,' he said adding the generation at present has touched 1490 MV against 935 MV in 2001.