Karnataka is among the few States in the country where there are no ‘power cuts’ this year as it is ‘surplus’ in power, thanks to a big surge in solar power generation in the State.
“The days are gone when we used to ask consumers to minimise electricity use. The days have come where we may have to ask consumers to consume power without any hang-up since we have surplus power. The days of deficient power have gone and the current summer is free from power cuts,” said CESC Managing Director Jayavibhavaswamy.
Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, he claimed that Maharashtra has an 8-hour power cut while there is a three-hour power cut in Delhi. So far, the summer in the State has been free from power outages. The transmission and distribution loss has come down to 11 per cent from 12.5 percent. Effective management of distribution is also key for the State remaining “power-rich”, he added.
Thanks to the rise in solar power generation, there is an increase of 10 per cent in overall power generation in the State and 22 to 23 per cent of it comes from renewable energies (RE). In the last seven years, generation through RE has gone up from 5 per cent to 23 per cent. In case of a surge in demand, the CESC is equipped for meeting the demand with solar power generation, he explained.
Power dues
Even as the defaults have come down by 30 percent, electricity consumers still owe a whopping ₹900 crore to Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation and the defaulters are mainly government institutions and panchayats. “We have stepped up recovery despite problems faced by our staff,” he replied to questions on outstanding dues.
Responding to queries on the threats faced by the CESC staff from politicians and elected representatives in case of any disconnection of supply in case of default, he said, “We continue to convince them on our efforts and why disconnection is necessary. The efforts continue but the default risks have to come down further.”
The defaults were more for the supply done under government schemes, like Bhagya Jyothi scheme. The defaults among the industries and commercial consumers was less, the CESC MD said.
