State to purchase 1,000 Mw of power in March

Karnataka will purchase 1,000 Mw power from the private producers at a cost of Rs 323 crore to meet the demand and supply situation in the state during the month of March. With this the state will get additional supply of 21 million units per day, chief minister B S Yeddyurappa said.

Responding to the opposition’s charge that the state government had failed to ensure adequate supply of power on the floor of the assembly on Tuesday, the chief minister said the state government has taken enough measures to buy power from the private producers to meet the shortage for the months of March and April. The government will buy another 750 Mw on a short-term basis during the month of April and tenders will be floated soon for the same, he said.

With the purchase of 1,000 Mw of power during March, he said the scheduled load shedding would be reduced to one hour from the present two hours a day in Bangalore.

The urban centers in the state will get power for 22 hours and rural areas will get 6 hours of three phase and 6 hours of single-phase power everyday, Yeddyurappa said.

The state has taken measures to buy 200 Mw from Jindal Power, 450 Mw from Power Trading Corporation, 250 Mw from NTPC and another 100 Mw from NTPC on a barter system for the month of March, he announced.

The daily demand for power in Karnataka has crossed 137.5 million units as on February 8, 2010 and this is likely to go up to 140 million units per day during March and 145 million units in April as examination days are nearing.