BENGALURU: Data from the National Grid has revealed that there is a possibility of an 18 per cent power shortage in the country ahead of summer, but Bescom officials insisted that the city’s power demand has no connection with the country’s.
Based on internal documents, the National Grid has said that an 18 per cent power shortage is expected in the coming days across the country. In April, the peak demand for power is expected to be 217 gigawatts at night and there is a possibility of a power shortage during peak hours this year. The report has caused a lot of anxiety among the residents of Bengaluru, and questions have been raised about whether it will affect the citizens of the city.
Bescom officials clarified that Bengaluru has no relation to the country’s power demand. Bescom General Manager Nagaraj said “Enough power is being generated to meet the electricity demand of the city. Rains in the state have mostly filled all the dams and supply can match the demand. In February, the power demand increased by 2,000 mega watts per day”.
“In the months of April and May, the demand may rise by an additional 1,000 MW of electricity. All hydropower plants in the state are running. Last November, the average electricity consumption was 5,711 MW per day. But February saw a record 7,493 megawatts of power consumption. Therefore, the demand for an additional 1,000 MW is likely to be seen in April and May. There will be no load shedding as per the available statistics”, he added.
KPTCL workers plan protest
Meanwhile, employee of the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (KPTCL) have decided to stage protest to demand a 25 per cent hike in salaries. The KPTCL employees said they had appealed to the government to fulfill some demands, but they have not received any response.
The KPTCL employees, who have decided to stop work and go on protest if their salaries are not increased, have also issued a strike notice. The employees had given a notice and a 14-day deadline, but the government has not responded. On March 16, the employees of KPTCL have announced a mass holiday at all the power generation units in the entire state. The employees are saying that the protest is inevitable as the government has not responded to their demand for salary revision.
“We had given a memorandum to our MD, but at the government level, no one has taken it seriously, and no negotiation has been done. We have planned to do stage a protest against the government on March 16,” said Das Prakash, president of the KEB SC/ST Welfare Association.
“On March 16, we have decided to go on strike against the government as it has not responded to our demands, especially about salary revision”, said K Lokesh of the Diploma Engineers’ Association.