Hudhud results in 2-hour load-shedding in Bangalore

BANGALORE: The impact of cyclone Hudhud in Karnataka is a two-hour load shedding in Bangalore city and three hours in the rural areas with immediate effect and for an indefinite period.

Of the 1,700 MW power that was to be supplied from central grid situated in Andhra Pradesh (AP), 700 MW supply has been disrupted due to cyclone Hudhud in AP and Odissa. Shortage of power supply from Central grid and also drop in power generation by the thermal power plants in the state will result in load-shedding for two hours in the Bangalore city and three hours in rural areas.

Energy minister D K Shivakumar after a visit to State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC) on Sunday said that two hours of load shedding was inevitable across the state including Bangalore due to short supply of power. "The production and supply gap is around 25%. Due to disruption from Central grids and state generating units, 2,539 MW is deprived for Karnataka," he said.

The minister said that one unit each at Raichur Thermal Power Station (RTPS) and the Bellary Thermal Power Station (BTPS) has stopped producing power and Udupi Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) is generating 550 MW power against its capacity of over 1,000 MW. "Load shedding in Belgaum and Gulbarga, where tampering with single phase power supply has been reported, will be imposed for about 14 hours," he said.

Good rains across the state has helped to keep power woes under check. Due to full water level at reservoirs, hydel power is being generated at its full capacity. The state is getting over 5,000 MW of power from hydel and 898 MW from non-conventional energy sources. "While we should be get more than 3,800 MW of power from the Centre, only 1,338 MW is being supplied," Shivakumar said.

Maintaining that it was unfortunate to go for load shedding despite good rainfall, the minister said the government plans to procure 500 MW from private companies to meet the demand.

He said the first tender for power purchase from private players within the state did not yield results as they quoted high price per unit. "The second bidding has been called and the tenders will be opened on October 18," he said.

Shivakumar also said that though Karnataka has power purchase agreement with few power surplus states in northern India, it was unable to get due to non-availability of corridors and grids.