JOIN USFaced with a severe power shortage, the State government on Wednesday directed all urban local bodies (ULBs) to save electricity by reducing the usage of street lights in their jurisdiction by an hour.
Energy Minister D K Shivakumar said all ULBs, including Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, have been asked to reduce the duration of usage from 12 hours to 11 hours.
The ULBs have been asked to turn on the street lights at 7 pm instead of 6 pm.
Directions have also been issued to ensure that streetlights are turned off in time.
He said the government will also be strictly monitoring the use of irrigation pump sets. Farmers will be briefed on the need to reduce power consumption. Shivakumar said illegal tapping of power during Ganesha festival will be dealt with strictly. Those who want to install Ganesha idols in public should use diesel generators, he said.
Assistant Executive Engineers and linemen will be held responsible if complaints of illegal tapping were received, the minister said.
“We have no intention to cause inconvenience. The State is facing severe shortage of power. Failure of monsoon is one of the main reasons. The department has drawn up a plan to purchase power from various sources and the State will have excess power by December,” the minister said.
The State is also planning to buy excess power from Tamil Nadu. Karnataka is likely to get about 230 MW from the Kundankulam Nuclear Power Plant. The government has also initiated steps to purchase about 350 MW from sugar factories, he added.
The Centre has been requested to provide additional 1,600 MW.
The department is planning to request the Telangana government to allow using its transmission corridor during night as the neighbouring state is using its corridor only during the day.
At present, the State has 6,000 to 6,500 MW of power available. Of this, Bescom has been allocated 3,015 MW, Hescom 1,235 MW, Mescom 513 MW, Chescorp 754 and Gescom 983 MW, he added.
The Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) urged Shivakumar to desist from unscheduled load shedding.
“Industries are badly affected due to erratic power supply. The government should properly schedule the cuts. We have also requested the minister to exempt tax on power generated from DG sets,” said FKCCI president Tallam Dwarkanath.