No load shedding; arranging power from different states to meet shortage: Karnataka Energy Min

Amid power crisis in the state, Karnataka Energy Minister K J George on Thursday said there is no load shedding in the state and the government is making efforts to purchase power from other states to fulfill the demand.

George, who was here to attend the Congress Central Election Committee Meeting, said there is power shortage in the state due to poor monsoon and as a result daily electricity generation has been lower by 30-40 million units (MU) than the estimated daily demand of 270-280 MU.

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"There is no load shedding in the state. We are purchasing power from different states to meet the shortage," he told reporters.

He also clarified that "no artificial electricity shortage" has been created as has been alleged by opposition JD(S) leader and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy.

The state is committed to provide uninterrupted power to the people and is buying power from different states, he added.

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Highlighting the steps taken to address the power shortage, the minister said the issue has been flagged with the Centre which has agreed to provide 2 lakh tonnes of coal to the state for power generation.

Besides, the state government has negotiated for swapping power from the Uttar Pradesh government during the pre-solar and post-solar hours to an extent of 300 to 600MW from October 23 to May 24. This power will be returned to UP between June 24 and September 24, he said.

A similar swapping arrangement has been finalised with Punjab for 500 MW of Round the Clock (RTC) power from November 2023 to May 2024, he said.

Further, the state has plans to procure power through a short-term tender to the extent of 1,250 MW power on an RTC basis and 250MW on real-time basis as and when required primarily to meet the peak hours demand. Permission from the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission on a cap-rate basis has been obtained.

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According to the minister, the state hydel reservoir storage level is currently sufficient to meet 14MU for balancing the grid operation. The government has decided to impose section 11 of the Electricity Act 2003 for all the Open access Generators in the state to mitigate the demand.

Also, Chief Executive Engineer-rank officers have been appointed for each district to closely monitor the power supply and ensure that equitable power supply is given across the state, the minister said.