BENGALURU: In an indication of what lies in store in the summer months, Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) on Thursday said the demand for electricity in areas under its jurisdiction had reached 4,608 megawatts on Wednesday. The peak load for the entire state on the same day was 9,322 MW.
Managing Director Pankaj Kumar Pandey said that closer analysis showed that maximum usage was by high tension (HT) consumers followed by irrigation pump sets. Domestic consumers consumed the least, he added.
Energy Minister D K Shivakumar had, last week, warned that the state would face a tough time meeting its energy needs in summer as coal licences issued to mining companies had been cancelled by the Supreme Court. Currently, the state has 5,119 Million Units (MU) available from the three major reservoirs of Linganamakki, Supa and Mani, which is 402 MU lesser than last year’s availability.
On the issue of the alleged violation of the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Act in the purchase of power meters in 2013, Pandey said there was a need for a running contract in order to provide meters for new connections, which can reach 1,000 a day. “We have replaced 7 lakh meters out of the 20 lakh meters which are in our jurisdiction. We will replace the rest by this year,” he said.
End of ATP Machines
Pandey also said the ESCOM would stop the facility of Any Time Payment (ATP) machines as part of its push towards increasing online bill payment facilities. This move is also to avoid duplication of other payment methods such as spot collection, authorising Easy Bill to collect BESCOM payments from their partner medical stores, grocery shops as well as branches of Union Bank, post office and the MobileOne app, he added.
A pilot project is likely to begin from next week in South Bengaluru in which BESCOM staff will collect payments from the customer’s doorstep in the form of cash, cheque or by card.