Karnataka - Shimoga   

‘Load-shedding inevitable’

SHIMOGA: Minister for Energy K.S. Eshwarappa said here on Saturday that the people in the State were being convinced about the inevitability of load-shedding, which was being imposed in view of the worsening power situation.

Addressing presspersons, he said that discussions would be held with the authorities concerned to take stock of the power generation and the steps to be taken to distribute power judiciously.

The Minister said that the State was passing through a critical phase as the gap between the demand and supply had been widening in view of the shortfall in power generation by thermal power projects, making it inevitable to heavily depend on hydel projects.

He said that the Raichur Thermal Power Station, with an installed capacity of 1470 MW, was not running to its full capacity as the seven units hardly operated simultaneously, adding that they had become sufficiently old and seemed to have outlived their utility.

Apart from it, the Bellary Thermal Power Project, with an installed capacity of 500 MW, had not been able to operate to its full capacity as it was bogged down with technical problems.

He blamed the irregular supply of power from the Centre as one of the main reasons for the power crisis. The Centre had been supplying only 900 MW to 1,000 MW of power of the State’s share of 1,543 MW.

Apart from it he said the State was entitled to get 150 MW of power from the unallotted quota from the Central grid, but it was not getting it fully as a major part of it was being supplied to Andhra Pradesh.

On the reported dissatisfaction expressed by Governor H.R. Bhardwaj over the “tardy” implementation of the relief measures in the flood-affected areas, Mr. Eshwarappa said: “Please do not talk like a politician. As an elderly person you may guide us giving suggestions.”

Expressing his surprise over the “criticism” by the Governor over the implementation of the relief measures, the Energy Minister said that he could have expressed his views in private before Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, Home Minister V.S. Acharya and Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Suresh Kumar when they met him to apprise him of the relief measures being taken up.

Stating that it was grossly unfair to say that the relief measures were not being implemented at all, Mr. Eshwarappa said: “It is possible that the pace of the implementation of the relief works may not have been to our expectation. But it is not correct to say that the works are not being implemented in a proper way.”

He claimed that the entire work pertaining to the restoration of power supply in the flood-affected areas had been completed with the new transsormers and poles being erected with the cooperation of the local people.

When it was pointed out that Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde too had expressed his dissatisfaction over the manner in which the relief works were being implemented, Mr. Eshwarappa said: “I react to him in the same way as I have reacted to the Governor’s comments.”

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