Summer months will be comfortable, says a departing Shobha

January 23, 2013 08:27 am | Updated November 17, 2021 04:01 am IST - Bangalore

Minister for Energy Shobha Karandlaje on Tuesday said the States’ power situation is comfortable and there will not be load-shedding in the coming summer months.

Addressing presspersons here, she said adequate arrangements have been made to ensure this. A total of 1,280 MW would be purchased from Gujarat and private power producers daily to ease the shortage in power generation in the State. Sufficient water storage has been maintained in reservoirs to generate hydel power in the next four months. The government purchased 1,000 MW daily during the last summer months, she said.

The government has spent Rs. 12,000 crore on improving the power transmission system, which helped in reducing transmission and distribution losses from 23 per cent to 20 per cent. A total of Rs. 9,000 crore was spent to purchase power in the last four-and-a-half years. “I am proud and have the satisfaction of performing well during my tenure as Energy Minster in the last two-and-a-half years. I am leaving the department,” said Ms. Karandlaje, who had dropped hints of resigning from the Ministry and the Bharatiya Janata Party to join the Karnataka Janata Paksha ahead of the Assembly polls.

She outlined the achievements of the BJP government in the energy sector and said the State has consumed 173.94 million units (MU) up to January 22, 2013, and the State has been producing 31.40 MU of hydel power, 50.21 MU of thermal, 21.52 MU by Udupi Power Corporation Ltd. and 6.94 MU from wind sources. During the last four-and-a-half years, she said 4,593 MW has been added to the State grid.

Kudgi super thermal power with 4,000 MW capacity, Edlapur (800 MW), Yermarus (1,600 MW), Bidadi (700 MW), Bellary Thermal Power Station (700 MW) and 4,000 MW Chhattisgarh plant are in the pipeline. When completed they would turn Karnataka not load shedding leave people in Hassan district harried only into a power surplus State, but also in a position to sell energy to neighbouring States, she said. Effective measures through the Vigilance Cell to reduce power theft and pilferage have been taken and 3.97 lakh cases have been detected. A sum of Rs. 523 crore had been collected in the form of penalty. About 1.20 lakh unauthorised irrigation pumpsets have been regularised. Still, there are 1.4 lakh illegal IP sets in the State, she said.

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