Karnataka seeks central assistance for power sector

New Delhi, May 28 (UNI) Karnataka today sought Central support for the 'Swarna Jyothi' Rural Load Management System, which aims to segregate power supplied to irrigation pump sets from power supplied to rural consumers at the distribution transformer level to help maintain uninterrupted power supply to rural households.

Addressing the Power Ministers Conference today convened by Union Energy Ministry, state Power Minister H D Revanna said though there were notable achievements in the power sector, the aim should be to bring down the Transmission and Distribution losses to 15 per cent level by the end of 11th plan. This exercise too required huge investments. The Centre should enhance grant component of APDPR to 50 per cent from the present level of 25 per cent.

Karnataka, the minister said, expected to add 8,000 MW of power during the 11th plan period and once the proposed ultra mega power projects in the states were set up the figure would go up to 1,28,000 MW.

The coal based power plants faced problems like timely and adequate quantity of raw material supplies to keep the plants running and the Centre should give letters of comfort assuring them coal linkage for successful bidder. The ports faced the problems of inadequate handling capacity creating serious bottlenecks in the railway network.

Mr Revanna proposed the setting up of an Energy Council headed by Prime Minister and consisting of Ministers of Power, Coal, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Railways and Shopping as members to remove the bottlenecks and facilitate energy production. The process for granting environmental clearance for the power projects should be simplified and should be in a timebound manner, he said.

UNI