BENGALURU: Karnataka Energy Minister KJ George has rejected allegation of corruption labelled by HD Kumaraswamy on the Siddaramiah government. Kumaraswamy had levelled allegations of malpractice in procuring power and importing coal to meet the State’s energy needs
“We reject former Chief Minister H.D Kumaraswamy’s baseless statement on allegation of corruption and malpractices in procuring power, importing coal to meet the energy needs of the state,” Energy Minister K J George said.
“The demand for power in the State has shot up this year compared to last year. In the last few years, power consumption was less due to the COVID-19 pandemic; however, this year, the demand has seen unprecedented demand. The power demand has been so high that the power consumption in August has surpassed the summer months’ consumption,” the Energy Minister added.
Kumaraswamy has accused the government of artificially creating an electricity shortage by reducing power generation below the state’s installed capacity. He alleged that power purchases are motivated by seeking commissions. According to Kumaraswamy, the state has an installed capacity of 32,912 MW but currently generates only around 12,000 MW due to mismanagement.
Reacting to it, K J George said “Our State has a total installed capacity of 32,009 MW (26,000MW units are on offer to state utility companies), and the remaining 6000 MW capacity is under private use. Of the 26,000 MW installed capacity, 50% is, and we have an estimated daily storage availability of 11000-12000 MW. However, the State’s solar power generation is being implemented with a peak availability of around 15000-16000MW during peak solar power availability.”
“Hence, the former Chief Minister’s statements of the government creating an artificial electricity shortage are far from true, and the government is committed to serving the people of the state and power uninterrupted power despite the challenges it faces,” Energy Minister K J George said.
The Karnataka Energy minister further said that the Kumaraswamy was making allegations only to mislead the people of the state.
“So, I want to tell HD Kumaraswamy that there is no question of corruption or any malpractices involved by the government in power purchase. As a former Chief Minister, he is well aware of the power that is purchased, and there is no grain of truth in his allegations and only a figment of wild imaginations to mislead the people of the State,” he said.
Responding to the allegations of corruption in importing coal to meet the energy needs, the Minister responded that to fuel the nation’s thermal power plants and boost power production, we import 10-20% of coal and mix them with Indian coal. This is a universal practice by all the thermal plants in the country that are run by the Central Government to boost power production. (ANI)