BENGALURU: Karnataka Energy Minister KJ George on Thursday said that the demand for electricity has increased in the last few months in the state. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, the minister said the demand for electricity has increased by 15,000 MW in October.
George said Karnataka has a total installed capacity of 32,009 MW of which 26,000 MW is for state consumers and the remaining goes directly to private firms. He said the peak demand ranges up to 16,000 MW during peak solar power availability.
George also said coal allocation to the state from the Centre is not as per requirement and the quality is affected because of rains in the mining regions. Due to the lack of rains in Karnataka, hydel sources are not tapped to their fullest and thrust on thermal energy has increased, he said.
“Also due to poor monsoon, demand for electricity from irrigation pump (IP) sets has increased by 46%. They are consuming a lion’s share. Karnataka has witnessed a production capacity drop of 300 MU due to a lack of power generation from thermal power plants. Solar and wind energy generation has also dropped to 230-240 MU from 270-280 MU. Under energy swapping policy, power is being procured from Punjab and Uttar Pradesh to meet Karnataka’s demand,” the minister elaborated.
George also refuted the allegations made by JDS state chief and former CM HD Kumaraswamy on the Congress government creating artificial scarcity of electricity.
George said the root cause of the problem is that there has been no increase in installed capacity since 2018. George added that compared to June 2022, this year, energy consumption is beyond 200 MU per month.
Responding to allegations of misrepresentation of importing coal to meet demand, George said 10-20% of imported coal was being blended with Indian coal. He asserted that Karnataka was also following the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) directives on transparent tendering guidelines to import coal.
George said efforts were being made to get 150 MW of power from NTPC Kudgi Super Power plant, which was diverted by the ministry to Delhi. He said efforts to increase power generation in Karnataka are also being made, including calling for short-term tenders to procure 1,250 MW of power and Section 11 of the Electricity Act was invoked to procure power from private generators.
On the coal situation, George said, according to CEA, the sector consumed 5.58 MT of imported coal in September 2023 as against 5.03MT in September 2022. From April to September in FY ‘24, the number stood at 27.78 MT as against 34.30 MT last year.
“In September 2023, domestic coal receipts stood at 59.9 MT while it was 53.5 MT in September 2022. From April to September FY’24, domestic receipts stood at 381.4 MT but in April-September FY’23 it was 354.8 MT. As of September 30, coal stocks at domestic coal-based power plants stood at 21.70 MT against a daily requirement of 2.6 MT,” George said.