Bangalore: Karnataka Buying Power from J&K, Punjab, Jindal
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Dec 8: Getting ready to face the summer and ensure availability of power, Karnataka is making efforts to buy power from North Indian States like Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab to tide over the shortage due to non-availability of coal for the thermal power plants in the State.
Replying to a question from Independent member, Goolihatti D Shekhar during the question hour in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday, Energy and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Shobha Karandlaje said the Government would also buy 500 MW daily from Jindal Power Limited to overcome the power crisis during the coming summer.
She pointed out that there was likely to be intense competition among states to get power from the Central grid as several States would be facing assembly polls and the State governments concerned would make their best efforts to prevent any power shortages. They would also try to buy additional power generating states and private companies.
The minister said states such as Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been aggressively bidding to get power from private companies.
The thermal power plants have not been receiving adequate quantity of coal power from Singareni coalfields, which was the reason for state’s thermal power plants not being able to get sufficient coal to generate power to the optimum capacity.
Despite several meetings with the Union Coal and Power Ministers, the Centre had not made any efforts provide allocated quantity of coal and power to the State.
The Union Power and coal Ministries would be impressed again on the shortage of coal and power supply to the State, the minister said.
The State has obtained 47,295 million units in 2010-11 and supplied to various consumers 37,202.15 million units. The T&D loss in the State has been estimated at 22 per cent and efforts have been made to reduce it, the minister said.
Due to one or the other reasons, and particularly opposition from farmers, the Government has postponed the power audit in the last few years. The farmers have been opposing installation of meters for IP sets. In the absence of power audit, it was difficult to find out consumption of power by different sectors, she said.