Various government agencies including the escoms together owe a whopping Rs 9,050 crore to the Energy department, according to minister D K Shivakumar.
Replying to question by Tara Anuradha (BJP) in the Legislative Council on Tuesday, the minister said that the gram panchayats and urban local bodies are in arrears of huge sum towards power consumption.
The gram panchayats and urban local bodies owe no less than Rs 700 crore.
As per the list provided by the minister, the government itself owes Rs 42.7 crore to the Energy department towards power concessions to information technology companies and other industries.
Other defaulters
Officials said that the arrears in this regard have been pending for the past five years.
Other prominent defaulters are: Mysore Airport Authority, Ghataprabha Sugar Factories, Sandur Mines, Hotur Steels, Kandaya Bhavan, Karnataka Housing Board, office of the deputy commissioner, Ramanagara.
Referring to shortfall in power generation, Shivakumar said Karnataka requires 10,473 MW per year while the current generation is 8,600 MW. The transmission and distribution losses havebeen estimated at 20 per cent of the power generated.
Earlier, during a debate on power situation in the State, the minister said that Karnataka would face power deficit of 10 to 15 per cent during the next financial year.
“The proposal from GMR to supply 700 MW from its gas-based power plant in Andhra Pradesh, is under active consideration of the government,” the minister said.
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