Power cuts are back in city

Power cuts are back in city
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: The days of the virtual blackout are back in the city. On Monday, unscheduled power cuts returned to haunt the residents. Three units in Raichur Thermal Power Station (RTPS), a major supplier to the city, were shut down due to technical problems, resulting in about 1,000 MW shortage in the state and about 400 MW shortage for Bescom.
The areas where power was cut for several hours were Chamarajpet, East Bangalore, Banaswadi, parts of Indiranagar, KR Puram and surrounding areas, Jayanagar, JP Nagar and other parts.
B e s - com MD T u s h a r Girinath told TOI: “The sudden shortage is due to problems in RTPS and maintenance works in hydel power stations. The city usually requires about 1,600 MW on an average, which we were managing with staggered holidays and other solutions. But due to this sudden shortage in power generation, we had to balance the power load given to us. Though we tried to manage the situation, we were 100-150 MW short for the city itself.’’
Usually November is a slack season in terms of power consumption, according to Bescom. But this year, there is a sudden spurt in power consumption pattern. Girinath said that according to statistics, there is a rise of about 10 million units in consumption of the state, which translates to a 10% rise. Even the city registered about a 10% rise in consumption.
But Girinath is hopeful that the situation will get better once power generation from Bellary thermal plant and hydel power units is in place.