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Karnataka - Bangalore

Consumer groups against new thermal plants

Special Correspondent

They demand a study of the State power sector

BANGALORE: Various consumer organisations, power experts and representatives of Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP) on Thursday urged the State power regulator to advise the Government to stay the implementation of all new thermal power projects, including the controversial Chamalapura project, till the regulator analysed the actual requirements of the State power sector by constituting an experts’ committee.

Participating in a public hearing held by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on the objections raised against the new thermal power projects, including the 1,000-MW project proposed to be set up at Chamalapura near Mysore, MGP president Sudhir Vombatkere and power sector consultant Shankar Sharma demanded that the KERC should set up an experts’ committee to take up a comprehensive study as well as analysis of the State power sector to know its requirements and ills. It also look into the environmental impact of such projects.

The committee should come out with recommendations on how to increase the efficiency of the power sector by plugging the loopholes like the energy losses. Based on the committee’s recommendations, the KERC should advise the Government on managing the power supply situation in the State.

They maintained that there was no need for additional power in the State. Mr. Sharma even claimed that the State had a total installed capacity of 8,000 MW from all sources, including the supply from the Central generating stations. Whatever the power shortage was being referred to by the Government and the ESCOMs was only an “artificial shortage,” he said.

According to him, this artificial shortage was mainly due to the inefficiency and lack of transparency in the power sector.

He claimed that nearly 40 to 50 per cent of the State’s installed capacity was underutilised, mainly due to high energy losses. It was possible to manage the power supply situation by reducing energy losses and also taking effective steps to conserve energy, he said.

Mr. Sharma and Mr. Vombatkere expressed dissatisfaction over the State Government’s routine approach of merely adding new power projects. It was like adding water to a bucket with a big hole, they said and suggested that any new addition to the power grid would not be of much help till the loopholes were plugged.

If there was any power shortage, it could be met by the optimal utilisation of the existing resources and also harnessing non-conventional energy, especially solar and wind energy. There was no need for any new thermal power plants as they came with social costs like displacement of people, they said.

Mr. Vombatkere pointed out that the new thermal power plants were being set up to manage the peak load shortages. But, in reality, the thermal plants were essentially base-load stations. Large addition of such thermal stations without analysing the actual power requirement would result in surplus load capacity leading to reduction in plant load capacity (PLF) and hike in consumer tariff, he said.

U.R. Ananthamurthy, writer, on Thursday joined the consumer groups in opposing the new thermal power plants, especially the one planned at Chamalapura, by deposing before the commission.

The litterateur cautioned that the Government would not only be polluting the earth, but also damaging the sky if it went ahead with power projects indiscriminately. “You will be ruining the farmers of Chamalapura by taking away their land. Even if you give them huge money, they will spend it in no time as they are not good at financial management,” argued.

The hearing was adjourned till April 3.

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