Plea to stop politics of power

A technical snag has brought to a halt the power generation at two units of the Raichur thermal plant, worsening the power crisis in the city. 

Several Bangalore areas ended up facing power cuts every alternate hour on Tuesday.

T Abdul Hafeez, a resident of Kavalbyrasandra, said, “There were power cuts every alternative hour today. How can a homemaker work? I am unable to use my computer. If power cuts are scheduled, it would have been better.”

“A technical problem at RTPS  caused the power cuts today. But there are other issues like haphazard management of the power situation, that need to be addressed immediately,” said MG Prabhakar, energy committee member, Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and India (FKCCI).

He said the electricity supply company should issue a notification before announcing loadshedding schedule.

“Industries are worst hit by unscheduled power cuts. It’s the end of the financial year, and companies are trying to maximise production. Unscheduled power cuts are hampering their production,” he said. “Politics should not govern power supply schedule,” said another expert on the condition of anonymity

A Bangalore Electricity Supply Company official said that it would take two more days to resolve the situation.

“We are planning to purchase power from cogeneration companies to tide over the power crisis in summer. At least 300mw of power will be purchased from these companies,” said Murugesh R Nirani, minister for large and small scale industries.