Hot summer, no power, but mantri stays ‘cool’

Hot summer, no power, but mantri stays ‘cool’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK


Bangalore: Power officials have sounded alarm bells about severe shortage in the coming days. But energy minister K S Eshwarappa as usual insists there is no cause for alarm.
Already reeling under power cuts, Karnataka will have to get ready for some extra load-shedding throughout summer as increase in peak demand of electricity has pushed the shortfall to 3000 MW.
Thanks to Lok Sabha elections, the government’s plan to buy power to bail the state out from a power crisis is in a limbo.
“It’s not rising mercury or dipping water storage level in dams alone which is worrying us but the elections too,’’ said Karnataka Power Transport Corporation (KPTC) officials.
Giving reasons, they said several power-hungry states, including Karnataka, have queued up to buy power in a desperate bid to lift load-shedding in their respective states with an eye on the elections. And prompted by the rising demand, electricity is only getting sparse and costly by the day.
Moreover, some states like Gujarat, which Karnataka was heavily relying on, is now reluctant to get into power purchase agreement, as the situation is getting bad in their state too.
Still worse is that Karnataka also faces the prospect of default by private firms with whom agreements had been reached for power purchase earlier, sources added. This is not all. Karnataka Power Corporation (KPC) officials point out that the increasing demand and limited power supply is putting extra burden on the existing infrastructure. So it’s not a surprise to find units tripping or feeder lines going bust due to pressure.
Though KPC officials did not quantify the actual increase in load-shedding time, KPTC officials gave enough indications that they have to resort to extra load-shedding when the situation gets worse in April and May.
Energy minister K S Eshwarappa is, however, hoping that Gujarat will come to the state’s rescue. “We are still negotiating with the Gujarat government, besides some private companies. Within a few days things will be back on track,” he added.
LIGHTS OUT
Officials have sounded warnings of severe power shortage in the coming days. But energy minister K S Eshwarappa insists everything is fine. The state will have to prepare for more load-shedding this summer. Other states are unwilling to give power, keeping an eye on the Lok Sabha polls