State to promote more power usage at night

BANGALORE: Karnataka has decided to increase power usage at night by promoting agriculture and industrial activity through a preferential tariff.
KPTC Managing Director K.N. Shrivastava on Thursday said a proposal to the effect is being prepared and will be placed for the KERC’s approval shortly. "It will be preferable if more activity takes place during the non-peak hours so that we can maximise power usage," he pointed out.
Presently, Karnataka has a shortfall of 1,200 MW during peak hours, with the state limiting supply to 85 million units against a daily demand of 97 million units.In the first step to reduce the load during this period, power to irrigation pumpsets in half the state’s area is being supplied during the night — 10 pm to 2 am.
The two-hour load-shedding in urban areas, however, has been lifted, while rural areas will get eight hours of three-phase supply for their IP sets, and four hours of single phase supply in the evenings for domestic usage. "This much we will definitely maintain. However,we cannot say if more power can be supplied," Shrivastava said.
Panchayat to collect bills Taking a leaf from the Orissa experience, Karnataka will introduce billing and collection of power bills at the gram panchayat level through a local resident. Power Minister Basavaraj Patil Humnabad on Thursday said collection had improved by 25 per cent during the pilot project conducted by the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhuvaneswar, in three panchayats — Nonvinkere in Tiptur, Budigere in Devanahalli and Kaivara in Chintamani. "We will introduce the programme on an experimental basis in 125 panchayats in the Hescom areas and 47 in Bescom areas."
"We will give contract to a ITI or diploma holder to meter read, bill and collect revenue from the panchayat area. He will get 10 per cent commission. So the more he collects, the more money he makes, while our revenue will increase," Humnabad explained. The Gram Vidyuth Prathinidhis — as these people will be called — will be selected through exams and interviews.