Power hikes hurt: Time to explore other options

Bengalureans, who are coping with power cuts in a hotter than usual summer, will now have to pay more for the power they consume thanks to the 8 per cent hike in power tariff announced by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission. While the Escoms are blaming the drought for the increase in tariff, isn’t it time they planned for the future by encouraging green energy and encouraging people to conserve power?

It's been a summer shocker.  Bengalureans sweltering in a city that is seeing the mercury rise unusually high this year, have been taken by surprise by the eight per cent hike in power tariff that comes into effect from April 1,forcing them to pay a lot more for cooling off with the now essential fans and airconditioners.

The timing of the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission's announcement couldn't have been worse as people are also having to put up with unscheduled power cuts in some areas despite the Bescom's claims to the contrary.     

Pointing out that the latest tariff hike is the highest the city has seen in the last five years, Mr D S Rajashekar, president of the Citizens' Action Forum insists it is entirely uncalled for. “If Bescom cannot provide uninterrupted power supply it does not have any right to increase the tariff," he protests, adding heatedly, "We understand that the state has been reeling under a severe drought for the past two years and Bescom cannot manufacture rain, but it can prepare for the worst by encouraging people to conserve power and switching to renewable sources of energy instead of  burdening them this way."

The civic activist also laments that most houses in the city still use electric geysers, when most  developed countries have replaced them with solar ones. “It is Bescom’s duty  to encourage use of solar energy and energy conserving LED bulbs. But it has done nothing of the kind, “ he regrets , also wondering why it has not encouraged people to save power by giving them proper incentives.

It’s not that Bescom does not  have good renewable energy plans, says urban expert ,  R K Misra. It's just that it has not publicized them enough, he maintains."The grid connected solar rooftop plant scheme under which Bescom buys power generated by people is a really good one,  but hardly anyone  knows about it. Aggressive publicity should be given to such green initiatives" he suggests.

Observing that the newly formed Telangana state is marching ahead  with the LED revolution, he regrets that Bescom has not done enough to popularise its Ujjala scheme either.  “This scheme needs to be followed through more seriously," he stresses.

All is not well with city’s power supply
Bescom may be singing "All is well" with the city’s power supply, but many pockets are going without power for hours without warning and for some the consequences are serious.

Take the case if Mr Ramappa of Banaswadi. A kidney patient, he relies on a dialysis unit at home, but finds the power cuts coming in the way of his treatment. Upset at the unscheduled power cuts interrupting his dialysis routine at home, his grand-daughter, Nisha , asks angrily,  " When Bescom claims it has surplus power, why is it resorting to these unannounced power cuts?" Others may have lesser reasons to complain about the power cuts, but they are also angry at having to put up with them when they are expected to pay a higher power tariff with every passing year.   

Ask  Mr Rajendra Cholan, MD of  Bescom , and he admits  that some areas in the city are seeing  power cuts. "Parts of east Bengaluru and south Bengaluru are seeing unsheduled power cuts  due to their old transformers. And in some areas the power outages are due to overloaded transmission lines," he explains.

The officer, however, assures that work is on to phase out the old transformers and to increase the capacity of the transmission lines. “We are in the process of setting up 66kV stations, which will increase the capacity of the lines. But the process is time consuming as  land has to be acquired for the stations,” he says. 

5K new transformers
So old are some transformers in the city that they can malfunction even if a small tree branch falls on them, plunging an entire locality into darkness. But things could change with Bescom promising to replace the old transformers with 5-star rated trans-formers. "The new transformers will be 5-star rated and 20 per cent more efficient in saving transmission losses. They will also be capable of  withstanding other technical issues," says Mr Rajendra Cholan, MD of Bescom, adding that the agency is happy with the performance of a 5-star rated transformer installed  in HSR Layout under a pilot project. “We are waiting for the government's okay to install 5,000 new transformers in the city,” he reveals.

‘Consumers’ participation at KERC meets is almost nil’
M G Prabhakar, energy expert and member of FKCCI

While the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission is only discharging its duty as it is expected to under section 86 of the Electricity Act, 2003 by approving changes in the power tariff, it is also expected to safeguard the consumers' interests. But how many consumers really participate in the electricity regulatory process ?

As of now the domestic consumers’ participation in the process is almost nil as most are not even aware of  the commission’s proceedings. Sadly, there are simply not enough consumer education tools. And as the proceedings are held in English, the few who do participate, are not able to file their objections.

When consumers are not able to participate in  KERC proceedings how can it establish what is in their  interests ? Consumers too need to be vigilant and keep track of the developments in the energy sector.

That said, the recent power tariff hike is unjust and is a disaster especially for the industrial sector. Ideally, the power tariff should be  based on quality, continuity and reliability of supply. If the power supply is not reliable why should we pay a 100 per cent charge for it?  It is this sort of argument that should be raised in KERC proceedings by  consumers and it’s a pity that this is not  happening.

Reliable power supply is more vital to industries than domestic consumers as  power cuts come in the way of  economic growth. The solution could be to shift to green energy before it's too late. Luckily Karnataka has huge potential where solar energy is concerned. With the price of the photovoltaic cells dipping people too are beginning to use solar energy, but even so its per unit cost is quite high. The government needs to tell people how solar energy can help in reducing the burden on non- renewable energy and also provide incentives to popularise it.