Bangalore runs on generators

Bangalore runs on generators
Long Outages Hit Industry Output
Jayashree Nandi & Senthalir S TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: The city is running on generators but the government is unfazed. Both Bescom and KPTCL have come out with standard excuses: demand is more, state facing shortage, technical snags in Raichur power plant.
Both domestic and industrial consumers are bearing the brunt. The industry says this is one of the worst situations in the past two decades. Five to six hours of intermittent power cuts every day have crippled the industry. All process industries have come to a halt as production costs have increased by 60% and the output has come down by 10%. According to Peenya industrial Association members, they have faced a loss of Rs 10 crore to 12 crore in the last one week due to power cuts. The association members have decided to shut the operations of the industrial hub for one day if the situation doesn’t improve.
The situation is no better in the silk and jewellery hub of Chickpet. According to traders, Chickpet generates a turnover of Rs 300 crore every day but due to long power cuts, almost every shop is facing about 20% loss. Adding to the loss is the long use of generators.
Same in other commercial hubs like Brigade Road and Commercial street where smoke levels are always high due to constant use of gensets. Domestic consumers too are largely dependent on gensets and inverters.
Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) president J Crasta said: “One has to know why the power generation has reduced. It is because the turbines are not working due to the low-quality coal being purchased by the government. It’s time the government did something about inefficient management. It must go in for smart meters.’’ POWER CUTS PRODUCTION
Production in Peenya comes down by 30% Power cuts six hours a day Production cost goes up by 60% Cost of power goes up by 300% Chickpet shops use gensets Loss amounts to Rs 40,000 per day