Handling the power supply situation in summer has always been a tightrope walk in a power-starved State such as Karnataka. This is because of the summer season has become a double-edged sword. On the one hand there will be a surge in demand for power, and on the other, no power corridor will be available to get additional power from other States during peak hours as all the southern States would be competing to import power.
Despite such a scenario, the power utilities are promising a comfortable summer in terms of power supply. According to sources, the five Escoms in the State feel that it would be possible for them to tide over the power shortage to an extent during the summer as they will get some additional power from a few sources.
While the State is getting 200 MW of power from Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu, it is pleasantly surprised with the availability of about 400 MW of wind power this season, when the generation from wind is normally very low. Though there is no guarantee on the availability of same quantum of wind power throughout summer, power utilities feel that whatever wind power is available will help conserve hydel storage. Similarly, it is hopeful of conserving about 200 MW of power from Hubbali and Kalaburagi electricity supply companies by pegging the supply to irrigation pump sets at seven hours a day.
The Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd. (KPCL) too is technically ready to face the summer as it has completed the process of annual maintenance of all its thermal power generating units at the Raichur Thermal Power Station and Bellary Thermal Power Station. Though two generating units at the RTPS have temporarily stopped generation owing to technical snags, officials express confidence that they would resume generation in a few days.
However, the challenges too are tough as the demand for power which had touched a peak of about 9,300 MW last summer is expected to marginally surpass that mark this season. Similarly, the daily power consumption, which had reached a record 202 million units during the previous year is estimated to touch 210 mu some time in the middle of this summer, experts point out.
Similarly, storage in the three major hydel reservoirs is marginally lower than the previous summer levels. Also, depending on wind power alone may be risky as generation from this source keeps fluctuating depending upon the wind speed, they maintain.
Power experts feel that the summer supply would now depend heavily on the performance of the thermal power generating units. Even if there is a minor technical snag affecting the generation, the entire power supply for the State is bound to get affected during summer, the experts observe.
What has provided one more dimension to the issue is the gram panchayat elections scheduled for May and the possibility of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike council polls almost during this season. It remains to be seen how the power utilities would cope with the challenge as they are bound to be under political pressure to maintain good supply in the areas going to polls.
