“It has been raining in many parts of the State in the last two days. Farmers have, therefore, stopping using their irrigation pump sets. As a result, the power supply situation has improved,” he said.
With monsoon becoming weak in the last three weeks, farmers had started using IP sets, leading to increased demand for power.
The demand for power was around 110 to 115 million units till recently, while the total availability was 100 to 105 mu. The situation is easing now and the demand is around 96 to 98 mu.
Though the Minister claimed that the situation has eased, unscheduled load shedding continued across the State, including Bangalore. People called up this office and complained that there was no power in their locality for nearly four hours.
All electricity supply companies (ESCOMs), including BESCOM, have resorted to unscheduled load shedding as there is a huge gap between the demand and supply in the State, official sources said.
In fact, Chief Minister Yeddyurappa while reviewing the Energy department at Manthana-2, had stated that the State may face a severe power crisis. Steps are being initiated to face any eventuality in coming days, he had said.
However, Eshwarappa said the situation does not warrant chalking out contingency plan.