K J George.
Credit: DH file photo
Karnataka Energy Minister K J George said here on Friday that the state government is speaking to other states to purchase electricity to meet the shortage of power.
He said the state recorded a peak demand of 16,950 MW on August 25, compared with just 11,268 MW in August 2022.
This “extraordinary situation of high power demand” is due to the failure of monsoon rainfall. The rainfall deficit has increased agricultural irrigation pumpset loads, pushing the overall power demand, he told reporters here.
These adverse circumstances have led to an acute power shortage of approximately 1,500-2,000 MW, he said adding that the Energy Department has formulated an action plan to address the shortfall.
“I have also met Union Power Minister R K Singh and requested him to allocate more electricity from the Central grid to Karnataka,” he said. He also said the government will hold talks with private power producers and sugar factories to supply electricity. The department has also sought government land to install solar power plants at the sub-station level, he added.
Attacking the previous BJP regime for the power crisis in the state, George said the state would have not faced this problem if it had taken proper initiatives to set up more power plants.