State’s power woes worsen

State’s power woes worsen
Deccan Herald

Power problem has aggravated in Bangalore City and elsewhere in the State. This time around not only LT consumers (domestic consumers) in urban areas but also HT consumers are feeling the heat...

Power problem has aggravated in Bangalore City and elsewhere in the State. This time around not only LT consumers (domestic consumers) in urban areas but also HT consumers are feeling the heat.

According to sources in the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL), the utility has been restricting power supply to the HT consumers to tide over the shortage during peak hours.

“For nearly six days now, we have been stopping power supply to the HT consumers in some areas from 6:30 pm to 9 pm. The HT consumers have been asked to switch over to their captive utilities to meet their requirements during these hours,” they revealed.

In Bangalore City, the major areas where the HT consumers have been affected are Adugodi, Koramangala, Jayanagar and Peenya Industrial Area.

The sources claimed that the stoppage of power supply to the HT consumers meant that the same is being used to meet the requirement of domestic consumers.

“Now that the exam season has begun and cricket matches are also underway, we want to ensure as regular a supply as possible to domestic consumers. So we are doing our best to manage the situation”, they added.

Barter with Punjab

Meanwhile, KPTCL Managing Director Bharat Lal Meena told Deccan Herald that to meet the demand, the utility has decided to purchase 200 MW power from Punjab under barter system.

“We have already finalised the deal with that state. Power from Punjab will be available during night hours from tonight itself,” he said.

Under the barter system, Punjab which does not need much power now will supply it to Karnataka. In turn, the State will have to return the same from June onwards when farmers in Punjab will take up paddy cultivation.

Mysore hit

Unscheduled load-shedding has been announced in Mysore City where the disruptions are lasting for unscheduled periods of time between 6 am and 10 am and 6 pm and 10 pm, reports DHNS from Mysore.

However, neither the hours of disruption nor the areas to be affected have been announced.

Shutdown in M’lore

The Mangalore Electricity Supply Company has also been forced to shut down power supply for about an hour everyday in the City to meet the increasing demand, a DHNS report from Mangalore said quoting Mescom MD S Sumanth.

Sumanth blamed the load-shedding on the lack of sub-stations in Mangalore City. “Unless the five proposed power stations are set up, the problem will only worsen next year,” he warned.

In the meantime, Deccan Herald office here was flooded with calls from readers complaining of irregular power supply in their areas.

A retired naval officer from Richmond Town, T R Mudgal, complained that since March 22, there was no power supply in his area for at least three hours everyday. “Even today (Wednesday) we didn’t have power for 2 hours and 20 minutes. Is this not regular load-shedding?” he wondered.

Mr Gopi, a resident of Marathalli, said there was no power supply in his locality between 3 pm to 6 pm on Wednesday. “For the last two weeks, we have been facing the same problem,” he added.

Ms Shashikala Shanmuganathan, a resident of Richmond Town, stated that students have been badly affected due to the irregular power supply. “Today (Wednesday) we did not have power from 11 am to 12 noon and again between 2:30 pm and 4 pm. This has been the routine for the last 15 days. Yesterday (Tuesday) we did not have power supply between 7 pm and 9 pm. How will students prepare for exams if there is power cut in the evenings?” she asked.

Mr Balakrishnan, who looks after a furniture factory in Bommasandra, said production at his factory has been affected due to the unscheduled power cuts. “Our factory doesn’t have alternative sources of power. We can somehow manage if Bescom authorities announce in advance the load-shedding schedule,” he opined.

When contacted, Bescom authorities admitted that there was a serious problem in Richmond Town area. “This area is fed by power from Austin Town sub-station. The lines in the Austin Town area are heavily overloaded. Hence we are resorting to load-shedding during the peak hours,” they added.

The KPTCL is understood to have already taken up system improvement works in Austin Town area. “Once this is completed in a couple of months, there will be no problem in Richmond Town area,” the authorities informed.

GRIM SCENARIO

(From all sources):

115 million units

Average peak-hour

demand per day

135 million units

Average daily shortfall: 20 million units

Power from Punjab:

200 MW