Karnataka   

Farmers’s arrears put power utilities in a spot

Raichur: The electricity supply companies in the State are in a piquant situation while recovering the pending power charges from the irrigation pump set users.

The high demand for power from the agriculture sector is likely to continue till the end of summer harvest.

The power consumption in the State had now been at 140 million units (mu) daily as against the availability of about 90 mu, including about 20 mu from the Central grid.

The State Government has limited options in tackling the crisis — impose unscheduled power cuts or purchase power at exorbitant rate.

But no electricity supply company has been able to cut the power supply to defaulters, especially farmers.

Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. was able to come out of such a crisis once in the State during the regime of S. Bangarappa when the then Government had announced free power supply to the irrigation pumpsets and released the subsidy amount.

The Janata Dal (S)-Bharatiya Janata Party Government, headed by H.D.Kumaraswamy, had promised to continue the power supply at concession rates to the irrigation pump sets in the State.

But it failed to release any funds to the electricity supply companies as was promised.

According to M.S. Gopal, Chief Engineer of the Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company (GESCOM), the electricity supply companies had been facing a difficult situation while continuing subsidised power to owners of irrigation pumpsets.

He told The Hindu on Friday that the GESCOM had so far not taken any decision in respect of disconnecting power supply to the defaulters in the agriculture sector as it was a political decision the issue had to be decided by the Government.

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