BENGALURU: Unscheduled power cuts continue to haunt Bengalureans. But the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) denies it.
Though BESCOM had promised uninterrupted power supply from September 16 onwards, Peenya, Hebbal, RT Nagar and Sultanpalya in the north, Vijayanagar in the west, Jayanagar in the south and Banaswadi in the east have been witnessing power cuts, especially in the morning and after 6 pm.
Power outages added to the Monday blues of many office-goers and students. They complained that the unscheduled cuts threw their schedule haywire.
Baswarajappa, who runs a laundry in BTM Layout in the south, was annoyed with BESCOM as he lost many customers on the very first day of the week.
“I returned from my native town on Sunday and was hoping to earn some money as most of my savings for the month was spent during the Ganesha festival. But there has been no power since morning and I had to turn away most of my daily customers,” he said. Shreyashi, an employee with an online marketing company, had to heat up water on her gas stove at her home near HSR Layout. “I woke up in the morning and found there was no power. This entire month I have been using gas to heat water in the mornings,” she said.
Vidya, a student from Laljinagar near Dairy Circle, said the area faced power cuts for more than four hours after 11 pm on Sunday.
Vidya, a student who is preparing for her exams and who resides in Laljinagar near Dairy Circle, said the area faced power cuts for more than four hours after 11 pm on Sunday, and a power cut of around one hour on Monday morning.
However, BESCOM officials claimed that there was no power shortage in the city and that no unscheduled power cuts were being carried out. The BESCOM officials asked citizens to dial 1912 to seek assistance in case of power cuts. But most people found the number to be busy. Geetha Chavan, BESCOM’s official spokesperson, said that there was a 220kv transformer flashover (high voltage short circuit) at Peenya on Sunday and hence changeover power was being arranged from Hebbal. As a result, Vijayanagar area saw frequent power cuts till 3 pm, she said.
Maintenance Cost Goes Up
The maintenance amount for residential complexes has gone up due to frequent use of diesel generator sets. In some of the apartment complexes, the cost of maintenance due to use of diesel has surged eight times this month as compared to August.
The situation is worst in the rural areas under BESCOM jurisdiction. Residents there complain of power cuts of over four hours.
Grim Scenario
A highly-placed source in the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited said that there is power shortage in the state, which will aggravate after October if the plants under maintenance don’t start generating. The situation could worsen if the catchment areas don’t receive good rainfall. Then, the power being generated from the hydel stations will not be adequate to meet the state’s demand.