BENGALURU: With Karnataka staring at a power crisis, Energy Minister KJ George rushed to Delhi with a team of officials to hold a meeting with the Union ministry to flag the issue and seek more coal. The state government on Wednesday presented its case before the Centre, seeking an additional two rakes of coal.
“We have no shortage. We are using the coal as we get on a daily basis. Consumption has increased as demand has increased. To be in a little comfortable situation and increase electricity generation to meet the demand, we have requested for two more rakes of coal. The Centre has agreed, but has also expressed apprehension as the power situation across the country is grim. The quality of coal is also a matter of concern as it has been raining in the Nagpur belt, hence production is not to the fullest,” sources in the department told The New Indian Express.
At the meeting, George also requested Union Minister for Power, New and Renewable Energy RK Singh to increase Karnataka’s share in the central generating stations, as the demand for power has shot up by 5000-7000MW on a daily basis.
According to Energy department records, the state currently has around 1.7-2 lakh tonnes of coal which is being used in three thermal power stations on a daily basis. Karnataka is getting 13-14 rakes of coal per day (each rake holds around 4,000 tonnes) from Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. The state is generating 2,118MW of thermal power daily. As on Wednesday, against the installed capacity of 11336.6MW, the state is generating 5919MW of power from its installed hydro and thermal units.
“We are working to see how we can get more coal. This year, none of the thermal stations were shut. Now, due to poor monsoon and poor renewable energy generation, the demand for thermal energy has shot up. In the past five years, there has been no increase in installed capacity.
We thought we have surplus power and were banking on renewable energy (RE) as a prime source. Post-Covid, with growth in the economy, the demand for power too has increased. But the monsoon has been poor and RE generation has dipped, so the situation has turned grim,” sources said.
ERRATIC POWER SUPPLY: FARMERS STAGE INDEFINITE STIR
Mysuru: Enraged over the erratic power supply to irrigation pumpsets, Federation of Farmers Associations activists have started an indefinite stir in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Chamarajanagar. They raised slogans against the government and CESCOM officials as their standing crops dried up due to low power supply. Farmer leader Mahesh Prabhu said CESCOM is supplying just 1-2 hours of power for IP sets, leaving farmers in the lurch. He said the government should intervene and direct authorities to provide 10 hours of power supply in the district, which has 75,000 IP sets. The farmers warned that they will gherao elected representatives if their demands are not met, and will lay siege to the CESCOM office on October 19.