No loadshedding in Karnataka: Energy Minister, D K Shivakumar

Bengaluru: Energy Minister, D K Shivakumar assured on Wednesday that the government  would soon call for tenders to buy 1000 MW of power to ensure there was no power disruption in the state despite the short supply of coal and some dams still not being full to the brim.

Launching Bescom Mitra, a mobile phone application of the telecom agency here, he said the government would also import over  one million tonnes of coal to make sure that students appearing for exams and thousands of industries, factories, offices and domestic consumers didn’t  suffer or blame the energy department for power disruption.

“ The media is constantly writing about loadshedding, but the fact it is just a technical failure and we are working towards rectifying it,” he added, speaking on the occasion.

Denying that the government was buying power and coal with an eye on the coming state polls, he declared, “ this is no election gimmick.”

Warning that stern action would be taken against those stealing power , he said he had instructed his officials to spare no one. “Recently two large establishments, including a Public Sector Unit were involved in power theft and our officials were thinking twice about taking action against them as they were dropping names. But I have clearly instructed them  to take action when required and assured them complete support. We need to together work to stop power theft, which is becoming a menace in the city,” he stressed, deploring that some large establishments or industries that spent huge amounts in building infrastructure, were reluctant to pay Bescom the prescribed fee for regular power supply.

Bescom Mitra app will help you register plaints from anywhere
The launch of Bescom Mitra mobile app has increased the responsibility of Bescom, as there will be active participation of the public while registering complaints or raising any issue pertaining to power supply or official issues, said Energy Minister D.K. ShivaKumar, while launching the app on Wednesday.
He said that the 24/7 Bescom helpline 1912 is working seamlessly and the app will help in bridging the gap between customers and officials. “This app will help consumers pay their bills from anywhere and register complaints against power issues or officials with the click of a button. We will work to bring in more technology to make our service hassle free,” he said.

Mr Ravikumar, additional chief secretary, energy department, said, “The app will help people save time, as there is no need to stand in long queues to pay their bills or register complaints. Bescom Mitra will also provide generic information, like the tariff, timings of scheduled and unscheduled power outages, policies, schemes, follow-up of complaints and more.”

A vigilance awareness meet with consumers was also held, where the officials discussed establishing a relationship with consumers and to personalise the consumer experience by using the analytics platform to make recommendations that are relevant to consumers.

A senior Bescom official said, “We are working on a consumer data analytics project, where analytical platform for consumer data analysis and insights will be provided. It will help in energy efficiency goals, demand-supply management and revenue enhancement.”