State may plug into private power producers

BANGALORE/BIJAPUR: The state government is mulling to purchase 990 MW of power from private players to meet the growing demand for electricity in the state.At present the state is facing a shortage of around 20 million units of power a day with the peak hour demand crossing the 170 MU mark this summer. Energy Minister Shobha Karandlaje told reporters after a review meeting with department officials that Karnataka is purchasing 250 MW of power from Chhattisagarh, but due to lack of corridors for transmission, the state is able to get only 60 to 80 MW.She said efforts are being made to purchase another 500 MW of power from Gujarat, but this will come through only next year.Expressing confidence that the situation would improve in the coming days with rains lashing many parts of the state, the Minister said the units of Raichur Thermal Power Station (RTPS) which had stopped generation for want of water, will resume generation from Thursday.“All units will resume generation as 5,000 cusecs of water has been released from Narayanpur Dam for the purpose. The water will reach RTPS by Thursday afternoon,” she added.A report from Bijapur said Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Ltd (KBJNL) has released about 2,000 cusecs of water to the power plant. KBJNL authorities said this would also cater to drinking water needs in some places in Bagalkot district.In Bangalore, Karandlaje appealed to farmers of Krishna basin not to draw this water for agriculture. “We have imposed prohibitory orders along the banks of Krishna river, besides deploying a vigilance squad for the purpose,” she added.To a question, the Minister said there was enough storage in the hydel reservoirs and around 2,173 million units of power can be generated from them.