JOIN USState to purchase 990 MW of power
Energy Minister Shobha Karandlaje has said the State will purchase 990 MW of power to meet the demand during summer. The State is finding it difficult to purchase more power because of lack of corridors to evacuate electricity.
Speaking to mediapersons in Bangalore on Wednesday, the minister said if the situation warrants, an additional 180 MW of power would be purchased from Jindal Iron and Steel Company. Around 250 MW is being purchased from Chhattisgarh which earlier used to supply 60 to 70 MW.
The Centre has agreed to supply coal to the second unit of Bellary Thermal Power Station, which has a capacity of 500 MW.
In all probability, the power generation may begin from the second week of May. Coal would be purchased from Odisha, she added. Gujarat will supply 500 MW to Karnataka in the coming months.
An agreement had been signed to this effect. The Centre has not yet agreed to supply coal to the Chhattisgarh power generation unit of Karnataka. Efforts are on to get coal supplied from the mining companies owned by the Chhattisgarh government. The unit is expected to generate 1600 MW of power, Karandlaje said.
Stating that efforts are on to restore power generation at the Raichur Thermal Power Station, the minister said water from the Narayanapur dam is likely to reach the RTPS by Thursday afternoon after which the power generation would resume.
Not apprehending any severe power shortage in the coming weeks, Karandlaje said the hydel stations have been generating 51.5 million units a day.
The demand for power per day is nearly 170 mu against the available 160 mu. Yet, load-shedding has not been resorted to, she claimed.
Karandlaje said that all escoms have been asked to educate people on energy conservation measures. Commercial complexes have been asked to avoid using ACs and escalators.
Projects in pipeline
Meanwhile, Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda has said that the efforts of the government to meet the power demand in the State will yield results after two years.
“We have proposed a thermal power plant in Kudagi of Bijapur district. We have also planned power production in Chhattisgarh.
These projects, which will together generate about 8,000 MW, face several hurdles, including clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests,” Gowda said at a press meet in Shirur village of Yalburga taluk.
The chief minister said it would take two years for the fruition of the efforts made by the government to boost power generation in the State.
Gowda, during his inspection in Raichur district, said steps have been taken to address water scarcity at the Raichur Thermal Power Plant. He said water was not released into River Krishna from the Narayanapura reservoir since it was expected that Maharashtra would release water from Koyna reservoir.
“The Maharashtra government had promised to release water. But it could not do so because of the objection raised by a certain political party in Maharashtra,” Gowda said.
Karnataka had sought release of four tmc ft of water from Maharashtra and after a lengthy discussion, the latter has agreed to release two tmc ft “We hope water will be released in about two days,” he added.
The chief minister added that as an immediate measure steps had been taken to release water from Narayanapura reservoir so as to keep the RTPS units running for the next 12 days.
Meanwhile, the four units of the RTPS which were shut down three days ago on account of water scarcity, continued to remain idle on Wednesday.
Power generation inthe first unit was stopped in the morning due to a technical snag. The generation resumed in the evening. It is said that water released from the Narayanapura reservoir may reach RTPS in a couple of days.
‘Situation under control’
Bescom officials claimed that the power situation in the State was well under control and the crisis had been tackled well. Prakash V, DGM (Operation and Maintenance), Bescom, said there was no load shedding in Bangalore. He said the company is making use of hydel and wind energy to make up for the decreased production of thermal energy.
The output
Power generation from various sources on Wednesday
* Major hydel plants : 46.14 million units (MU)
* Minor hydel projects : 10.01 MU
* Thermal power : 25.23 MU
* Central generating stations : 36.49 MU
* Non-conventional energy projects and others : 41.395 MU
* Total: 159.260 MU