Bangalore to face dark side of the Telangana agitation

The ripples of Telangana agitation have reached the shores of Bangalore. The IT city will have to endure frequent power outages as coal supplies from the Singareni coal fields in Andhra Pradesh, which supplies coal to many thermal power stations in South India, including the Raichur Thermal Power Station, (RTPS) have been badly hit due to the ongoing agitation.

“Coal supplies from Singareni coal fields and Nagpur have been hit due to the rail roko agitation in the Telangana region. It will hit power production at the Raichur Thermal Power Station (RTPS). At present, we have coal stocks for another 12 days. If normalcy is not restored, load shedding will be inevitable in urban areas,” said energy minister Shobha Karandlaje.

There has also been a dip in the amount of power the state gets from the central grid. Karnataka was to get about 1500 MW from the central grid, but the supply has been around 1200 MW. The state has been forced to introduce load shedding to manage the situation, the minister added.

Most of the cities in the state, including Bangalore, are already experiencing about two hours of unscheduled load shedding, and the situation is expected to get worse as the Telangana agitation shows no signs of ending.

State government is trying the tide over the situation by purchasing power from outside sources. Around 650 MW of additional power is needed to manage the situation. “We will invite tenders for the purchase of 500 MW. The process for the purchase of about 300 MW has already started,” Shobha announced.

Industries cry foul
Even as the state government is mulling of introducing load shedding, the Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KASSIA) has expressed its strong opposition against further load shedding.

Prakash Raikar, president of KASSIA in a statement on Monday said, “It is shocking to hear that BESCOM is imposing load shedding even before the monsoon season is over completely.

We are already experiencing two hours of undeclared load shedding in Bangalore already. It is very unfortunate for the small industries in particular as it will affect our delivery schedule and competitiveness.”