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INDUSTRY & TRADE IS ALARMED ABOUT THE FREQUENCY OF POWER OUTAGES AND THE POSSIBILITY OF IT WORSENING IN THE DAYS AHEAD. WE SINCERELY REST OUR HOPES ON THE STATE GOVERNMENT WHICH IS ADMITTEDLY TAKING ALL MEASURES TO AVOID A POWER SHORTAGE DURING SUMMER MONTHS.
– R.Krishnamurthy, President, PIA
If its summer, can power cuts be far behind? Chilly evenings and cold nights are soon going to be replaced with hot and sultry afternoons – and the proverbial power cuts will make it that much harder.
Industries in Peenya and surrounding Industrial Estates are already facing power cuts with some pockets bearing the brunt with power outages extending to several hours in a day.
According to reports, unscheduled power cuts, especially in the morning, have been a sore inconvenience for many, and a terrible way to start the day’s operations in a factory.
Bescom officials, however, claim that there is no unscheduled load shedding and attribute the power cuts to maintenance works. They insist that regular power supply is being ensured in urban areas by and large and only for maintenance purposes, power is disconnected for a while between 9 am and 5 pm.
Reflecting the concerns of small entrepreneurs in Peenya, PIA President Sri R.Krishnamurthy said there are genuine apprehensions about the frequency of power outages and the possibility of it worsening in the days ahead.
However counselling patience, he said, “We are given to understand that the State government is taking all measures to avoid a power shortage during summer months. The Power Company of Karnataka Limited (PCKL) has already called for a short tender to purchase power between 800 MW and 1200 MW depending on the demand. We would like to appeal to the Energy Minister to explore all means and ensure that the demand-supply mismatch is managed effectively and the industry’s needs, especially in a large industrial hub like Peenya Industrial Area are met so that productivity is not hit.”
According to official reports, Hydel power generated in September was not utilized and the State has sufficient water and is capable of generating power. If needed, the government will also be buying power from sugar factories.
According to Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) the State is capable of managing 210 mega units per day. BESCOM is reportedly planning to install rooftop solar panels on State – and central government-owned buildings. It has reportedly identified around 80 State-owned buildings on which solar panels will be fixed. This is expected to lessen the burden on the grid in summer. In the next phase, 200 buildings owned by Central government would be covered.
Though the state generates around 280 Million Units (MU) of power a day through hydro, thermal power stations, a part of it goes waste during transmission. The state’s power consumption per day stands at 190 Million Units (MU). During summers, the demand soars to 200 MU.
While the Energy Department has maintained that there will not be any crisis, several industries in BESCOM jurisdiction are witnessing unscheduled power cuts on a daily basis. The company has been informing the public about scheduled power cuts due to upgrades at several receiving stations, but the unscheduled power cuts due to tripping of lines at the receiving station and problems in the transmission lines have left many annoyed.
Power outages, water shortages in the harshest summer since 25 years: We could see a return of industrial, staggered holidays and blackouts. And unless you have a strong captive power plant in your factory it’s going to be the harshest summer Karnataka has ever seen in the last 25 years.
Reports say that Bengaluru is reeling under four or more hours of load shedding daily.
What is intriguing the industry circles is the assertion by the State Government that Karnataka has now turned into a power-surplus state, promising a summer without power problems. The state has 35 million units of power in excess, according to officials of the Energy department.
But what has stumped people is that despite being in surplus, unscheduled load-shedding and power-cuts ranging from two to three hours continue regardless.
The surplus energy in Karnataka has been attributed to the back-to-back drought situation in parts of the state, forcing a drop in power consumption by irrigation pump (IP) sets in the rural areas.
After a review of the power supply in Peenya Industrial Area, PIA President Sri R.Krishnamurthy caustically observed that many entrepreneurs told him that in many pockets of Peenya, it seemed that load shedding had been going on forever – almost as though it never ended last year! “While MNCs and IT companies have their own captive power plants, the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) don’t have that advantage. Last summer, most of the industrial units in Bengaluru got power for about an hour or so, setting them behind schedules and missing deadlines. Some industries were even thinking of shutting down their unit,” he pointed out.
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