Brace for another dark summer

Brace for another dark summer
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: Even as you feel the power situation is getting deplorable with each passing day, your worst fears may come true this summer. The government is seriously thinking of reintroducing load-shedding in March as storage levels in major reservoirs continue to remain below 30 per cent of capacity.
“We are going to face a difficult time this summer. We have no other choice than buying power from outside. Otherwise, load-shedding will become inevitable,’’ energy secretary K Jairaj said.
The cabinet sub-committee on power will soon meet to decide on load-shedding and importing power. Buying power was turning out to be an expensive proposition for the state considering it has already bought power from GMR and Jindal to mitigate the existing crisis.
As of now, power consumption is hovering at 120-130 million units (MU), but this is expected to shoot up to 140 MU during peak summer. This is against the average daily availability of little over 120 MU from various sources.
What is worrying the energy department now is that by February-end, it may have to cut down on hydel power generation and rely on thermal power stations if there’s no rain. Added to this, the government’s directive not to impose power cuts during summer with an eye on the Lok Sabha polls only makes matters worse.
In view of this, officials say the government might start scouting for power sellers early so that tie-ups can be made. “If that does not work, we have to resort to load-shedding if the situation worsens’’, said a senior KPTC official.