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Rain or not, power cuts haunt Bengaluru

Energy experts in the state are pushing the government to invoke Section 11 of the Electricity Act
Bengaluru: Energy experts in the state are pushing the government to invoke Section 11 of the Electricity Act, which makes it mandatory for power generators to compulsorily supply power to the state grid.
Pointing to low rainfall in catchment areas of hydel power projects in the state, experts warned that the power situation could get worse. Contesting Bescom’s claim that the city faced a deficit of 900 mw of power, they said that the state faced a deficit of around 3,00 mw, while the city around 1,500 mw.
“Soon, the demand for power will go up, especially in the farm sector because of the failed monsoon. Farmers will run their pumpsets and it will have a direct bearing on the power situation in urban areas like Bengaluru, which consumes 55% of all the power generated and purchased in the state. The government should invoke Section 11 of the Electricity Act to tide over the crisis,” said an energy expert from city.
The state requires around 15,052 mw of power, of which 6,498 mw is produced in the state through hydel, coal and nuclear power generators, 2,169 mw is received from the central grid, 5,082 mw from non-conventional means and 1,200 mw from independent power manufacturers. The state is now getting only around 12,000 mw, which has hit Bengaluru badly.
“The state should have a road map for energy generation. Power cuts hit tech services and manufacturing sector badly. We are talking about the Global Investor’s Meet and conducting Roadshows all over world, when the energy situation is pathetic. Most of the energy sufficient states have gas-based power production units which are missing in the state. The Bidadi power plant is yet to be made operational and the state has no choice but to manage the power situation with the available resources,” another expert said. Bescom officials hope that the situation will improve over the next week. They said that consumers can visit www.bescom.org to know about load shedding timings.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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