Load-shedding likely in October

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, Aug. 29.

There is likely to be load-shedding this October. The Chairman and Managing Director of the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. (KPTCL), Mr. V.P.Baligar, does not, of course, say so in as many words, but he concedes that load-shedding is one of the options the corporation may have to resort to if the State does not get adequate rainfall by September-end.

Mr. Baligar told presspersons here on Wednesday that the prevailing drought had worsened the power situation. ``Then there is the six to eight per cent annual growth in our customer base. That too has led to increased demand,'' he said.

Though the present supply was around 82 mu (million units) as compared to 58 mu during the same time last year, the hydel contribution had come down by 1,800 mu while demand had increased by 1,300 mu. This extra requirement of nearly 3,000 mu for the present financial year put an additional burden of Rs.600 crores on KPTCL, he said.

Besides, the finances of KPTCL were further weakened by the costly power it bought from IPPs (independent power producers) such as Tata Power, Tanir Bhavi and Rayalaseema. ``If by September-end, there is still no rainfall, it will be difficult to manage with the available resources. Therefore, we will either have to buy power from outside (the State) or restrict power supply. Otherwise, the Government or the consumers will have to come to our rescue,'' he stressed.

The KPTCL is also contemplating filing a fresh tariff revision petition before the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC).

Mr. Baligar said details of the ERC (expected revenue from charges) had been given to KERC, ``but it has sent it back to us seeking certain modifications. We will amend it and return it as soon as possible,'' he said.

He explained that KPTCL's present revenue gap was Rs.2,700 crores. This needed to be mopped up. Besides, KPTCL, under the Electricity Reforms Act, was entitled to file tariff revision petitions every year. ``When it will be filed and how much of an increase we will ask for, are yet to be decided,'' he added.

Website launched

On the same occasion, the Minister of State for Energy, Mr. Veerakumar A.Patil, formally launched the KPTCL website, kptcl.com.

The website is bilingual with Kannada and English versions. According to the corporation, it is customer-friendly as it will provide details such as the KPTCL Customer Charter, tariffs applicable to different categories, online registration of complaints and statistical details. The contact numbers of KPTCL officials (to the level of the Assistant Executive Engineer) will also be online from now on.

Besides, consumers can download application forms for new power supply connections. So also HT consumers who can find out the status of their power supply. Tender notifications, the status of tenders, Government policies etc., will be posted on the Net.

The website can be accessed at http://www.kptcl.com.

Award

Two divisions, the KPTCL Jayanagar Sub-Division and the Meter Relay Testing Division, were awarded ISO 9002 certificates by the Bureau of Indian Standards. As of now, the Jayanagar Sub-Division is the only one to be awarded this badge. The certification is valid for three years and will be subjected to review every six months.

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