No power cuts this summer, promises Energy minister

 Energy Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday said that electricity supply companies will not resort to power cuts this summer.

The Karnataka Power Corporation (KPCL) and electricity supply companies have already signed power purchase agreements with private generators, including sugar factories. “We will ensure power supply to the consumers and there will be no power cuts in the summer,” he told reporters.

At present, the state is generating 10,000 MW of power per day, while the demand is around 9,200 MW. The demand has come down of late due to decrease in power consumption by the industry and the agriculture sectors, he added.

The minister, however, did not disclose the projected demand during the summer. He was speaking to reporters after the KPCL and  the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd (RECL), a Government of India undertaking.

Shivakumar said the MoUs had been signed to take long-term loans to the tune of
Rs 37,000 crore from the RECL to take up projects related to power generation, transmission, rural electrification and modernisation. The RECL has agreed to provide loans at 8% to 10 % interest rate.

The state government is not in a position to fund these projects from its own resources. Hence, the KPCL and Bescom, which will be implementing these projects, have taken steps to avail themselves of loans. The MoUs were signed in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at his home-office ‘Krishna’.

The KPCL will be implementing nine power-generation and modernisation projects to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore. These include gas-based power generation plant near Yelahanka in Bengaluru urban district, thermal power plant at Yeramarus in Raichur district and the Sharavathi pumping station in Shivamogga district.

Besides, all five electricity supply companies will soon take up a programme to instal meters to record power consumption in an estimated 9.5 lakh households in the state. A survey by the electricity supply companies has revealed that these households are above the poverty line. An estimated Rs 3,000 will be spent on installing the meters in each of these households, Shivakumar added.

Bright spot

Present generation capacity is 10,000 MW per day
Demand is 9,200 MW per day
Industry and agriculture sector have reduced
consumption, bringing down demand