Karnataka - Bangalore   

Review of power situation today

BANGALORE: The Cabinet sub-committee on power, headed by Energy Minister K.S. Eshwarappa, is meeting here on Monday to review the power situation in the State and to decide on continuing load-shedding.

Thanks to good rains over the past few days, there is an improvement in the hydel power availability in the State now compared to what it was in the previous week.

The State’s three major hydel reservoirs have started receiving good inflows in the last four days due to copious rains in Western Ghats.

Even as the good inflow has created an impression that power shortage may be overcome very soon, power experts and officials in the sector are still sceptical. They point out that storage level in all the three major hydel reservoirs, including Linganamakki, one of the three hydel reservoirs which is witnessing good inflow in the last three days, is still less than 15 per cent of the total capacity.

“No doubt that the ongoing spells of rains have relieved us of the fears of the State plunging into a serious power crisis and the hydel reservoirs getting dried up in the beginning of the water year .

“However, still we have not reached the comfort level with respect to storage situation in the hydel reservoirs,” an official in the power sector said.

These three reservoirs, particularly Linganamakki, should have filled close to 25-30 per cent by this time going by the trend during normal monsoon

The storage in the Linganamakki reservoir has increased by 9 tmcft in the last four days while its total capacity is 156 tmcft.

Power experts feel that it is too early to decide on whether the three major hydel reservoirs would get filled up to ensure availability of the full quantum of cheap hydel power to the power-starved State till next June when a fresh monsoon would commence. The indication is that if the political considerations are kept aside, the committee may play safe by maintaining the status quo with respect to load-shedding and putting off the decision on removing load-shedding for some more time.

However, the intensity of load-shedding is bound to reduce as the ongoing spells of rains have reduced the demand for power in the parched districts.

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