Lucknow, June 8 (IANS): Uttar Pradesh continued to reel under severe power crisis for the second consecutive day on Monday.

Officials said despite the best of efforts of the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited, the yawning gap between power demand and supply was growing.

The gap between power supply and demand stood at 2,000 MW on Monday, leading to unscheduled power outages in many parts of the state.

Adding to the woes is the rising mercury which is touching new highs every day.

An official told IANS that in the past one week, widespread use of air-conditioners, coolers and other electrical appliances grew manifold while power generation has suffered some technical glitches at certain units.

The electricity demand in the state peaked to 15,000 MW in the last 24-hour while the supply was around 13,000 MW.

Obra power unit is producing only a fourth of its optimum production, the 100-MW number 2 unit of the Panki power unit has tripped.

Owing to technical faults, the power-cut free districts like Lucknow, Azamgarh, Mainpuri and Kannauj were also suffering power cuts, the official said.

The state is buying 403 MW from Bajaj Energy and 812 MW from Roza.