‘Delayed payment to electricity suppliers has led to this crisis’
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Bengaluru: An ambitious global investors meet organized by the state government is around the corner.
The state government has to find a solution to the power crisis which has hit industries and households hard. Even though the state government claims it has done everything possible to ensure round-the-clock electricity supply to industries, BESCOM has already announced a staggering number of holidays for industrial units that has sent shock waves among industries.
According to Mr. J. Crasta, co-chairman, ASSOCHAM, the actual problem in the state is not the power scarcity, but the delayed payment to the power suppliers that have led to the crisis.
“Various ESCOM’s have to clear the bills of various private and public sector power producers, including Jindal power, UPCL and KPCL . Due to the non-payment, KPCL is struggling to maintain its power generation units and coal purchases which has led to the crisis,” he said.
According to Mr. Crasta, when Shobha Karandlaje was the Energy Minister, the state was reeling under a drought.
“Our dams had no water for the generation of power. In spite of this we still managed to ensure regular power supply. The drought situation has now eased, but the state government is still having difficulty ensuring adequate power supply in the city, which will ultimately have a devastating affect on the industrial development of the state,” he said.
He also said that as the Kempegowda Inter national Airport is near two neighboring states including Telangana and Andhra, the ongoing power crisis may force investors to think about those states overtaking Karnataka.
In addition to the number of holidays to the industries, even the domestic customers are facing the heat of the frequent unscheduled power cuts.
“Most parts of the city have a minimum of two hours of load shedding these days. Extra load shedding may be due to issues related to maintenance, but compared to last month the power situation has improved vastly in the city”" said, an officer from BESCOM.
But consumers have a different viewpoint. They feel that the need of the hour is systematic management of the power supply. “Load shedding in the summer is a common problem. But this year even before winter, BESCOMs have started load shedding. Conditions are expected to worsen further in the coming days. This load shedding is making life worse for everyone,” says Mrs. Shakunthala Baliga, a resident of Malleshwaram.
Disruption in power supply on Sunday
There will be no power supply from 8 am to 5 pm on Sunday, in parts of Peenya and other surrounding areas. The load shedding is part of shifting of loads from 220 KV North and its auxiliary bus to a newly constructed 220 KV rigid type south bus for making arrangements for shut down on 220 KV North and its auxiliary bus for the conversion of a strung type to a rigid type for taking R & M works.
Affected areas
The affected areas include Old K G Halli, Kaivara Temple Shettahalli road, Raghavendra Layout, Lakshmipura, Lakshmi pura cross, Lakshmi pura village, C S R Layout, R K R Lay out., Abbigere Industrial area, Singapura, Singapura garden, Abbigere Dinne, Abbigere village M.S Palya, Chikkabettahalli, Phoenix and Pegasus, Gemini and Leo, Vega, Andro meda, Lynx, Orion mall, Sheraton hotel, Hercules, Dolaris, Cygnus, Sirius, Corona, Multi-level car parking, World Trade Center, Peenya 3rd Stage, Peenya 4th Phase, Brindavan, 3rd phase, Sri. Rama Deluxe, Krishi Irrigation, Station auxillary, 2nd Stage, D B Sandra, BEL Colony, R C Pura, MES road, Gangamma circle, M K nagar, ISRO layout, Prestige apartment, Modi Hospital Road, W.O. C Road, Pipe Line Road, Shankar Muth surroundings, J.C Nagar, Kurubarahalli, J.S Nagar, J.C Nagar, Bytarayan pura, Hesaraghatta, Ivarakandapura, Guddadahally, Poultry farm, IIHR, Ramaiah layout, Vinayakanagar, Rukmini nagar, HMT layout, Naga sandra, DB kallu, Attur, Vidyaranya pura, M.S Palya, KMF, Yelahanka New Town, Yelhanka Old Town, IAF, GKVK, Venkatala etc.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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