The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Villages to go without power for 13 hours a day

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Thursday, Aug 07, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Villages to go without power for 13 hours a day

B.S. Satish Kumar

Two-hour power cut imposed in Bangalore

BANGALORE: There is no relief to power consumers from power cut despite Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa’s declaration that power cut will be lifted thanks to good rains.

After providing relief for a few days, a power cut of two hours a day has been enforced in Bangalore from Tuesday. The power cut is severe in villages as they are facing power shutdown for 13 hours a day. Similarly, the power cut varies from four to six hours in other urban areas coming under the jurisdiction of Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM).

Decrease in inflow

The power cut has been ordered owing to decrease in inflows into the major hydel reservoirs of the State and also decrease in availability of power from the Raichur Thermal Power Station and Central share owing to maintenance works taken up in RTPS and Central Generating Stations such as Talcher, Kaiga and Neyveli Lignite Corporation.

According to sources in the industry, a circular regarding the power cut was issued by the BESCOM on August 2, to be enforced from this week. Accordingly, domestic, industrial and commercial consumers in Bangalore will face two hours of power cut a day.

As per the roster, the power cut will be staggered for domestic consumers.

In Bangalore, domestic consumers will face power cut of one hour between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. and another hour between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Industrial and commercial consumers will have two-hour load shedding at a stretch. They will face interruption in power supply from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The situation is worse for the areas located outside Bangalore in the BESCOM jurisdiction which has eight districts — Bangalore Urban, Bangalore Rural, Ramanagara, Kolar, Davangere, Chitradurga, Tumkur and Chickballapur.

The urban areas in Tumkur, Davangere, Chitradurga and Kolar will have a power cut for six hours a day while those in Ramangara district will have to go without power for four hours a day.

The villages in the above districts will not have power supply for 13 hours a day.

These villages will get only five hours of three-phase power supply (during which it is possible to operate motors including irrigation pumpsets) and six hours of single phase supply (during which it is not possible to operate IP sets and motors).

Poll promise

With this, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s scheme of free power supply to irrigation pumpsets has lost its sheen as the actual hours of three-phase power supply has been reduced from the earlier 8 hours a day to only five hours.

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