Units 1, 2 and 6 of the Raichur Thermal Power Station have been shut down due to problems of wet coal and annual maintenance works.
Two more units of Raichur Thermal Power Station (RTPS) were shut down on Tuesday casting serious doubts over chief minister BS Yeddyurappa’s assurance of 24X7 power supply for Bangalore city from September 1.
Already, units 1, 2 and 6 of the RTPS have been shut down due to problems of wet coal and annual maintenance works.
“The problem of wet coal is a common feature in the entire country during the monsoon season,” SM Jaamdar, managing director of Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL), told DNA.
With the shut down of the 4th and 7th unit, the production from RTPS has gone down by 1035mw. When asked about an alternative, Jaamdar said, “As far as the problem of wet coal is concerned, it will persist till the end of the monsoon season.
But, there is no need for alarm, as the demand has come down due to copious rains in the last few days.”
Though the rains have brought down the use of irrigation pumpsets in rural areas, Karnataka is suffering from severe power crisis.
The state is reeling under 24 million units (MU) of shortfall in supply of power daily as demand hovered around 115 MU against the supply of 91 MU from all sources including hydel, thermal and wind power.
Jaamdar assured that the shut down of RTPS units would be made up by increasing generation from hydel power stations, as the water storage level in hydel power plants had improved substantially.
Meanwhile, the state government is all set to supply 1000mw of additional power by purchasing from private sources from September 1 till end of May 2011.
It has been estimated that Rs1,937 crore will be needed to purchase power from this September to May 2011.
Chief minister BS Yeddyurappa has said that even though Bangalore has been promised round-the-clock power with the purchase of the additional 1,000mw of power, other cities in the state could expect 22 hours of power; rural areas in the state would get power for 12 hours each day.
For rural areas, supply would be split into six hours of three-phase power and six hours of single-phase supply.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}