Minister for Energy K.J. George has said there is no shortage of power at present, and the government is prepared to make arrangements in case of a shortage in the coming days.
Mr. George, chairing a meeting with elected representatives in Shivamogga on Saturday, said the government would purchase power from the open market to meet the demand. The power-generating companies in the State had been restricted from selling power out of State.
Earlier, the Minister, there was a power crisis, forcing the government to purchase power from Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab, besides seeking an increase in allocation from the Central government. “We did manage the situation well. Within a couple of months, we could restore the seven-hour power supply for irrigation pump sets,” he said.
Further, the Minister said the Gruhajyothi, under which people get free power supply of upto 200 units a month, had been benefiting more than 1.61 crore families.
Problems
The legislators complained to the Minister that the farmers were not getting power even for an hour due to technical problems. Tirthahalli MLA Araga Jnanendra said the government’s assurance of a seven-hour power supply to irrigation pump sets was not a reality in villages in the Malnad region. He urged the Minister to strengthen the staff and minimise the cost of supply so that customers were not burdened with increased power tariffs.
Shivamogga Rural MLA Sharada Puryanaik said that the gram panchayats had been facing problems repaying the power bill dues. The gram panchayats had to spend the 15th Finance Commission grants towards clearing the pending bills. “The government should clear all the pending bills,” she demanded.
Responding to the plea, KPTCL MD Pankaj Kumar Pandey said there was a total due of over ₹6,000 crores from the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department. Including the interest, the amount would go up to ₹8,000 crores. “The government had to take a decision on a one-time settlement. Such a decision was taken nine years ago,” he said.
Shivamogga MLA S.N. Channabasappa urged the Minister for a sub-station at the Devathikoppa Industrial Area near Shivamogga.
Minister for School Education Madhu Bangarappa, who is also Minister in-charge of Shivamogga, and senior officers of the district administration were present at the meeting.
