Bengaluru
Energy Minister KJ George said that State government has taken adequate steps, chalked out all remedial measures, and is fully geared to meet the State’s energy requirements during the upcoming summer months.
The State’s power consumption per day has touched 329 Million Units (MU), the highest ever, as compared to the previous year’s consumption per day of 300 MU. He added that this year’s peak load is 17000MW+, as compared to last year’s peak load of 15300MW+.
In a bid to meet the rising electricity demand, he instructed Energy Department officials to ensure uninterrupted power is supplied to students preparing for exams and seven-hour uninterrupted power supply to farmers in the State.
Power generation has remained the same in the last four years. Had the level been better during the previous BJP Karnataka government, the State would not have faced such a situation on Wednesday. Lack of rain has also adversely affected power generation. Power generation doubled during our first term of government. In 2013-14, the electricity generation was 14,048 MW, increased to 27,780 MW by 2017-18, Minister added.
To augment thermal power generation, the government has also decided to import 2.5 Lakh tonnes of coal from Indonesia and blend it with locally sourced coal. This is expected to help existing thermal plants generate 600 to 800 MW of additional energy in addition to their existing capacity of 3,400 MW and will cater to peak summer demand.
