BENGALURU: With the increasing demand for power in the state, especially during nights, the state energy department has entered into a barter agreement with its counterparts in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
“It is not a financial agreement, but a barter system. The amount of power received by Karnataka from Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh now (during April and May) will be given back to those states during June and July, when Karnataka will be experiencing monsoon showers keeping the power requirement low. But in those states, the demand will be high during that time,” a senior official from the department told The New Indian Express.
The official said the state is receiving 10 million units from Uttar Pradesh and 200 MW from Rajasthan every day. Karnataka, as well as Bengaluru, on Friday saw a peak in daily consumption and demand. Officials said the peak consumption (24 hours) on April 20 was 309.5 million units across the state and it was 146 million units in Bangalore Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (Bescom) limits. In previous years, the highest consumption demand was in the last week of March, when Karnataka needed 299 million units and Bengaluru 144 million units.
The peak demand (recorded between 9.30 and 11.30 am) was also on April 20 at 16,180 MW for Karnataka and 7,480 MW in Bescom limits, as per energy department records. “This time, there is an 18-20 per cent increase in demand from the agriculture sector during the day as compared to previous years. There is also a rise in demand from the domestic sector by 4-5 per cent. The demand is not very high from industrial and commercial sectors now,” the official said.
With hotter nights, power demand high
“The night demand has also increased because the average night temperature has increased, compared to previous years. This time last year, most parts of Karnataka experienced early monsoon and the demand was not high. But that is not the case this year,” the official explained.
The department is managing the peak demand in the day with solar power, where the generation is 6,500 MW per day. Since there is still no proper power storage mechanism, the night demand is a challenge. To meet the increasing demand for power, the department has also improved its grid network and capped leakages.
“We have an installed capacity of 32 million units in Karnataka and can handle the peak demand of up to 9,000 MW at any given point. With the delay in pre-monsoon showers and rising temperatures, we are anticipating a rise in demand in the coming days,” the official added.