State not in a position to buy energy

Power crisis: Consumers and industry will have to face more darker days

It seems, only good monsoon can save the State from darkness in the coming days. For, neither the State Government is in a position to afford to purchase high-cost power nor the private producers are ready to sell power.

According to official sources, many private producers based outside the State have refused to sell power to Karnataka because of the ban imposed by the respective Government. “The entire country is  facing the power crisis. So, all State Governments have imposed a ban on private producers to sell out of State,” sources said.

The State will have to purchase at least 30 million units of power per day in case the power generation from the hydel stations stops due to low water level. Going by the water level in the major reservoirs, power can be generated there only for one more week.

Cannot spend any more

Moreover, the State Government cannot afford to spend on purchasing power any longer. The Energy department has already spent a whopping Rs 3,000 crore to buy power during the summer and when the Lok Sabha elections were held. “Spending another Rs 3,000 crore to tide over the present situation means de-railing the fiscal condition of the State, especially when it is facing economic downturn,” sources pointed out.

So was the reason Energy Minister K S Eshwarappa, on Tuesday, did not commit himself on purchasing power from private producers despite the power supply scene being really bad in the State. Sources said that the State Government is looking at the Centre to find a solution as power crisis has become a nation-wide problem.

Energy Minister K S Eshwarappa on Tuesday said the Government is planning to lay the foundation stone for 4,000 MW capacity ultra mega power project at Kudagi in Bijapur in November. The project will be completed within 48 months from the day of starting the work. The Government has initiated the process to acquire 3,600 acre land required for the project. Work is also taken up to provide 5.2 tmcft of water from Almatti for the project, he added.