The state has begun with yet another year of power crises. The difference is that power cuts this year have started even before the rainy season ended. As a matter of fact the power cuts are a continuation of the phenomenon of the last few years. No section of the consumers has remained unaffected with strong protests being reported from all over the state.
Everyone, except probably those who are directly accountable to the crises, should be thinking of the way out of this decades’ long mess, which is affecting all aspects of our life. A keen observer of the power sector may reiterate that there are no quick-fix solutions to the problems besetting the power sector. The crisis we are in is not the making of any single government or of the omissions and commissions in one year. It is the result of the continuous failure of the concerned authorities for decades to read the writing on the wall. In the immediate context there can only be some measures to reduce the severity of the crises. However, the state should not leave any stone unturned in finding suitable solutions, even if it looks difficult to achieve or costly. No power is costlier than the costliest power in certain situations. The impact our society that has arisen due to chronic power cuts in the state during last many years has not been appreciated by most people; not even by the decision makers. Otherwise, the situation would not have been allowed to degenerate to such a low level.
People have been advocating many of the following measures for almost 25 years. Late Prof. A K N Reddy of IISc is known to have provided many of these measures officially to the state govt. way back in mid 80s. Most of these measures may need concurrence of the state regulator, and is advisable to obtain it urgently.
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Negotiate with the owners of captive power plants in the state so as to make use of their idle capacity, if any, at least during the peak demand hours. For various technical reasons the cost of such power may not be much higher than the imported power.
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ESCOMs should procure good quality CFL lamps in adequate numbers and supply them to consumers to replace the incandescent lamps at reasonable rates. We may be able to reduce the peak demand by about 200-250 MW, and save energy requirement of about 50 to 60 MU per month.
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Start a massive and concerted public awareness campaign on energy conservation and energy usage efficiency through electronic and print media, and with the help of credible NGOs. Appeal to the domestic consumers to save 5-10% of energy every month as compared to the consumption during corresponding months of last year.
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Appeal to the public to avoid using electrical appliances other than essential lighting accessories between 6.00 AM to 8.00 AM and between 6.00 PM and 8.00 PM.
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The energy conservation and energy usage efficiency measures will provide maximum benefits, if they are undertaken on a war footing basis in those geographical areas of the state which are far away from main generating sources such as Bidar, Gulberga, Belgaum, Hubli, Bijapur, Bagalkote, Chitradurga, Chamaraja Nagara, Mysore, Coorg etc.
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Consider, through executive order if necessary, asking all commercial installations above a certain connected load, say 2 kW, to reduce their energy consumption by 10% as compared to corresponding month of the previous year until further notice. These measures are better implemented with the consent of KERC.
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Ban the illuminated hoardings /advertisement boards until further notice.
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Consider banning the operation of shopping malls and other non-essential commercial establishments with connected load of, say, above 5 kW after 7.00 PM till 10.00 AM.
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Ban all night time sports until further notice. In case of the already committed national and international sports events ask the hosts to enter into agreement with private companies outside the state to buy the necessary amounts of energy and peak demand power.
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Ban all the decorative lighting applications until further notice.
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There is a scope for drastically reducing the wastages in street lights. In most of the urban areas there is unnecessarily high illumination of the streets. Consider asking all local bodies to disconnect power supply to every alternate street light pole in highly illuminated areas.
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Consult industry bodies such as FKCCI and KASSIA to reduce monthly energy consumption in industrial units by 5-10 %. Consider the option of two weekly holidays and /or one or two shifts only for industries.
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Take strict measures to keep the street lights off during day light, and make clearly identified individuals in local bodies responsible for the violations. Install light sensitive auto switches to the street lights on a priority basis.
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Ask all govt. offices not to use Air Conditioning where alternatives are available. Mandate them to reduce energy consumption by 10%.
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Mandate reduction by 25% the energy consumption of the lifts in non-essential locations.
Only concrete and focused measures will provide the lasting solution to our crises, and not the shortcuts, which successive governments have been following. Industry experts are of the opinion that the electricity shortages in the state as experienced in the recent past and as projected for the foreseeable future are clearly avoidable. The state govt. may also consider convening a meeting of the ESCOMs, consumer groups, industry observers, and other interested parties early to find suitable ways to tide over the situation. The public would expect the authorities to know that without the active co-operation of the public the power sector crises cannot be overcome even in a decade.
