Bengaluru: Is a sudden and unannounced power cut better than those announced in advance? Bescom believes the first does the least damage to its public image and has been resorting to abrupt load shedding in various parts of the city for periods ranging from half-an-hour to six hours leaving residents in the dark, wondering when the lights will light up. These shutdowns are conveniently blamed on technical snags owing to unexpected overloading and maintenance work.
There are unscheduled power cuts bothering residents in all zones in the city. Marathahalli, HAL, Indiranagar, Murugesh palya, HSR Layout, Devarabeesanahalli, Telecom Layout, Kora mangala, BTM 4th stage in East and South East Bengaluru have been bearing the brunt of unscheduled power cuts. “There are regular power cuts from 7 to 8 am and a half-hour power cut in the evening,” said Mr Varghese, a resident of Chinnappanahalli.
The situation in West Bengaluru is no different. According to residents there, most areas are witnessing unscheduled power cuts for a minimum two hours per day. "Load shedding is not a major issue in upmarket areas as Bescom is providing power continuously. But other areas are facing severe problems," says Mr Rajashekhar Bhat, a resident of Sadashivanagar.
South Bengaluru is one of the worst hit by unscheduled power outages. According to residents of Basavanagudi, Banashankari, Jayanagar, Vijayanagar and surrounding areas, they face power cuts for at least five to six times a day despite their persistent complaints to the authorities. "Every time we call the helpline, they inform us that due to service related issues, the cuts have been imposed. Even if they are 15 to 30 minute power cuts, the power outage is cumulatively more than 2 hours a day," says Mrs Shyamala Acharya, resident of Chandra Layout.
Interestingly, North Bengaluru is the least affected by power outages for some strange reason. There are not many complaints from Yelahanka, Hebbal, Sanjaynagar, Yeshwanthpur and the belt along the international airport road where the real estate sector is booming. Sources claimed it could be the power ministry’s eyes on developing the corridor that could be the reason.
Bescom's defence
During summer, as the temperature rises, the demand for power increases and there is overloading problem at the transformers and feeders when a cluster of consumers switch on electrical appliances at the same time, resulting in tripping. These are common transmission system constraints for which feeders are shifted from one line to the other with load restrictions. For this there could be power outage for only about half an hour after which power resumes. We blame it on the temperature rise, rise in demand and the overloading of transformers and feeders,” said a senior officer from Bescom.
Students preparing for exams badly hit
The most hard hit is the student community, who are preparing for exams. “We are around 50 students of Mt. Carmel College staying at a women’s hostel on Nandidurga Road. There are regular power-cuts at our hostel and nearby areas in the morning and night – between 10.30 am and 2 pm and then between 9 pm and 12 midnight. On some days, we are lucky as power supply resumes within an hour, but most of the time the disruption stretches to over two hours,” says Oshin Varghese, a student. “We cannot study for our exams sitting at our hostel rooms because of the heat and we cannot study or sleep until 12 in the night when power supply resumes,” said Mary Louis, another student. “On a daily basis, power is cut for over 3 hours at my house in Ramesh Nagar near HAL. I am not able to sit and prepare for my exams due to the heat,” said Anusha Vikram, another student. Students especially from the II PUC classes are the worst hit because of power cuts.
According to them, with tens of admission tests lined up in the month of April and May, power cuts are affecting their preparations. According to Vidya Shri, a resident of Malleshwaram, a student studies till late night and gets up early in the morning to ensure that they cover all syllabus portions and get a better ranking. "In other state capitals, power is not an issue for students. But here we need to plan our study hours as per BESCOM's power-cut time table," she said. Many feel the power situation could worsen in the coming days if the government does not come out with a plan of action. "April and May are the crucial months for all students as every mark they score decides their career and future," explained Abhilash Patel, another student.
We have enough power, but it takes time to rectify technical snags: Jawaid Akhtar, Managing Director, Karnataka Power Transmission Company Limited (KPTCL)
Why do you think there are power outages in the city? Is there a power shortage?
As far as power availability is concerned, there is no problem at all, we have enough power. As the mercury soars, the demand is high, systems are overloaded, and there are technical snags which takes time to get rectified after which supply resumes.
Consumers feel that in the garb of maintenance work and technical snags, power unavailability is the culprit and authorities are running the show with unscheduled load sheddings, claiming that power is being purchased.
There was power shortage earlier due to shutdown of Sharavathi Generating Station and recently, the Raichur Thermal Power Station (RTPS) was affected due to scarcity of water, but action has been taken by Karnataka Power Corporation to release water from Narayanapura Dam through the Krishna river. Since Wednesday, 6 units out of 8 have started to work generating power. On Thursday morning, RTPS generated 1337 megawatts. As far as the availability is concerned, there is no problem. It is also being ensured that during the peak hours-6 to 10 pm- there are no power cuts in the city.
When will Sharavathi Generating Station start working?
Three units out of 10 in Sharavathi Generating Station will start working in a week’s time. Each unit can generate up to 103.5 megawatts per unit. The restoration work will start from Friday.
