Karnataka - Bangalore

Power generation up but loadshedding continues

Bangalore: There was a marginal improvement in the power situation in the State on Monday with more hydel units back on stream though consumers still have to endure load shedding.

Consumers in Bangalore continued to endure unscheduled power cuts for several hours even as Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) Managing Director Tushar Girinath maintained that the situation would improve.

He told The Hindu that the utility would come up with a loadshedding schedule for all the areas coming under BESCOM, and not just Bangalore. He, however, refused to commit himself when asked if load shedding would be lifted in the city.

Meanwhile, the two units at the Raichur Thermal Power Station that had been shut down following a technical snag are up and running.

The units have a capacity of 210 MW each.

A top official at the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited said he expected the situation to improve further as one of the units at the Bellary Thermal Power Station would commence functioning on Tuesday night. “Of the seven units at the RTPS, six are currently functioning, while one unit is under annual maintenance,” the official added.

The two hydel units at Varahi with a 115 MW capacity each, which had been shut down for annual maintenance, have also resumed generation. Sources said the maintenance period was from November 3 to 13, but KPCL was able to shave off four days from the deadline.

Load shedding continues as the State is still facing a huge power shortage triggered by increased demand due to the prolonged dry spell. Moreover, the storage in the major hydel reservoirs is poor compared with last year.

What has compounded the situation is the decline in availability of power from the central generating stations as the nuclear and gas-based plants are not operating to full capacity owing to shortage of uranium and gas.

The shortage peaked when two of the three units of the Raichur Thermal Power Station (RTPS) could not function as one developed a technical snag and the other was shut for maintenance work. Moreover, one unit of the Bellary Thermal Power Station (BTPS) had to be shut down due to problems. The 500-MW unit is likely to be ready for generation by Tuesday.

Last week, Minister for Energy K.S. Eshwarappa declared there would not be any power shutdown in Bangalore from November 14 till December and that the Government would spend Rs. 400 crore to purchase 400 MW of power from independent producers.

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