Steps initiated for financial stability of Energy Department: Bommai

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said several steps are taken for the financial stability of the Energy Department by checking losses in power generation, transmission, and distribution.

The CM inaugurated the office buildings in Bengaluru Urban and Rural, Ramanagar, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Kolar, Chikballapur, and Davangere districts in the BESCOM limits, and laying the foundation for several programs here on Monday.

After the inauguration, he said, "Both the Energy and Transport Departments are in losses due to subsidies, and two committees have been constituted to suggest measures to strengthen them economically. Necessary steps will be initiated as per the reporters of the committees. Despite being a Rs 16,000 crore power subsidy, still, the ESCOMS are in losses. In the last one and a half years, Rs 9,000 crore has been given to the energy sector, besides special funds for the ESCOMS and Karnataka Power Corporation Limited."

"Rs 2500 crore profit has been made from the effective maintenance and preparedness during summer, power general and storage, and selling the additional power. Quality service is provided to all kinds of consumers including farmers, industrialists, and street vendors. A large number of transformers are kept ready due to the onset of the summer season," BOmmai added.

Stating that the scientific estimation of loss is required, Bommai said, "Power politics has been going on and suffered huge losses due to the mixing of foreign coal with domestic coal that made the coal nonusable. Without an energy policy, the Energy Department was used for political power for political reasons and made the sector incur huge losses. This kind of loss should not happen. The need of the hour is to scientifically calculate the losses in the energy sector to initiate reforms."

"40 units of power are given free of cost to the poor under the 'Kuteera Jyoti' and 'Bhagya Jyoti' schemes. Usually, around 60-70 units of power are used by domestic consumers then what is the meaning of announcing giving 200 units of power free of cost? Power politics must not be played in the energy sector as it is nothing but cheating people," the CM added.

Rs 3,000 crore for KPTCL

The Karnataka Chief Minister further stated that the Government of India is giving a subsidy for solar IP sets.

He said, "In this budget, Rs 3000 crore has been transferred to the KPTCL towards uninterrupted power transmission. The staff and employees must work with much more dedication. The government will take steps for the revision of the salaries of the KPTCL employees. Let there be good works through the Center of Excellence centres and the use of human resources along with technology. Linemen are the most powerful persons in the energy department."

Highlighting that Karnataka has been at the forefront of solar power, he said, "The first power generation in Asia happened in Karnataka. Following constant demand, hydel power was slowly replaced by thermal power. Now, solar power and wind power, which are people-friendly, are gaining popularity. The demand and supply can be maintained in case of increasing power generation. The state can generate 30,000 MW of power but cannot store it. So, there is an excessive dependency on traditional power generation. Following the success of SCADA-1, the government has given permission for SCAD-2 and efficiency will improve with degradation. Steps have been taken to increase renewable energy and increase pump storage capacity. The Sharavathi scheme has been taken under the Pump Storage scheme."

Energy Minister V.Sunil Kumar, MLA and Chief Whip Satish Reddy, Additional Chief Secretary Kapil Mohan, BESCOM MD Mahantesh Bilagi, and others were present on the occasion.