A week after Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy appealed to Union Minister for Railways and Coal Piyush Goyal to ensure a steady supply of coal to the state, he asked Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation not to resort to load shedding just yet. The CM on Tuesday insisted that the state had been writing to the Centre for the last two months on the issue.
Kumaraswamy on Wednesday told Energy Department officials to increase power generation from other sources of energy such as Solar and Hydel. It was earlier reported how Raichur Thermal Power Station (RTPS), which has a capacity of 1720 MW, was running out of coal due to low supply from the centre. The RTPS is one of three thermal power stations in the state alongside the Ballari Thermal Power Station (BTPS) in Ballari and the Yermarus Thermal Power Station (YTPS) in Raichur. Officials of the RTPS could not be reached for a comment.
As things stand on Wednesday, there is no threat to the regular supply of power, officials claimed. “Right now we have enough generation capacity available. The situation will deteriorate if the Centre does not supply enough coal for a longer time. Right now, there is a shortage of supply but there is no power shortage. If the government of India restores the supply of coal, there would not be any problem,” P Ravi Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary to Karnataka Government Energy Department, told TNM.
Power cuts in Bengaluru
Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (Bescom) said that till now they have not been asked to undergo load-shedding by the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited. “As of now, there is no load-shedding. The power interruption in Bengaluru is due to various reasons related to regular maintenance,” Jayanthi N, General Manager of Bescom, told TNM.
On Tuesday, Bescom registered a total of 6,314 complaints of power cuts. On Wednesday, too, places like Masjid Road, Govindapura Main Road, Kaggadasapura, Srinivasa Nagar, Banaswadi and Vidyanagar suffered power interruptions.