City to get 24-hr power supply, government to import 5 LT of Coal

Chief minister HD Kumaraswamy announced on Thursday that Bengaluru will get round-the-clock power supply in three-phases, and industries will not be put to any inconvenience.

He also announced that the government will import five lakh metric tonnes of coal to meet the summer demand, he told a media-conference held in the wake of reports that Karnataka is reeling under serious shortage of coal. “We will not gift power-cuts as Deepavali gift to our people,” the CM said, and added that the power utilities cannot resort to load-shedding without his approval as he holds Power portfolio.

The Karnataka Power Corporation (KPCL) Board, of which he is the chairman, has decided to float a global tender for supply of five lakh metric tonnes of coal from January to April to meet the summer demand, he said.


Kumaraswamy ruled out buying power from private players, reacting to reports that the government was trying to build a case to purchase power from outside. In his previous stint as CM, too, he never bought power from outside.

Karnataka does not have any problem with regard to availability of power from 9 am to 5 pm as any shortage during this period is made up adequately by solar sources. There has been, however, a shortage between 200 MW and 400 MW of power, and the KPTCL and five electricity supply companies (Escoms) are managing this without resorting to load shedding, Kumaraswamy said.

The CM said he has personally spoken to coal and railways minister Piyush Goyal to provide steady supply of coal to Karnataka as committed by the Centre, and officials including chief secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar have been following up with the Centre on a daily basis. The state has been told that railways has been facing a shortage of rakes, and Goyal has assured to fix the problem.