Be ready for sudden power cuts; Water supply to be normal

Be ready for sudden power cuts; Water supply to be normal
Deccan Herald

The taps may not necessarily run dry, but unexpected power cuts could be a grim possibility for Bangaloreans this summer. With power and water requirements peaking in the fast-growing City, the KPTCL, especially BESCOM, is beginning to feel the heat.

The power situation is “far from comfortable”, reveal KPTCL sources. The KPTCL had floated tenders for generation of additional 200 MW power in March for the summer months, but received no response.

“The proposal was too short-term for private power generation companies to be interested in,” explained a senior official.

“There is not enough power generation to meet the growing demand (See box). Load shedding has already begun in villages and in areas where revenue returns are less,” the official added.

Power requirments

Meanwhile, the power requirement in Bangalore currently stands at 1,400 MW, revealed BESCOM Chief Engineer Vishwanath Prasad. The worst-hit is South Bangalore, which has already begun witnessing unscheduled power cuts.

“The demand has risen in the IT corridors mainly due to use of air-conditioners, and the service stations are not in a position to deal with it. Out of the 53 stations, five-six stations in South Bangalore are unable to deal with the high load,” Prasad explained.

BESCOM’s plans of adding 37 new stations and increasing the capacity of 26 stations has been put on hold till June, due to the delay in delivery of transformers. “Unscheduled power cuts will occur, but we are not going in for planned load shedding in the coming months,” Prasad added.

Water flows easy

Meanwhile, BWSSB sources revealed that water supply will continue uninterrupted this summer, with two-hourly supply on alternate days in each area. However, it is going to add 20 new tankers to its existing fleet of 22, to supply water in case of contingency.

Consumption Break-Up

Power consumption in Karnataka

2005 106.483 m units a day

2006 126.287 m units a day

Power consumption in Bangalore

2005 19 m units

2006 22 m units