Bangalore:
Faced with acute power shortage, Karnataka Government on Wednesday appealed the people to cut down the use of fans and air conditioners till the situation eased.
As the temperature continued to soar in parts of the state including Bangalore, the peak hour demand for power supply has touched 170 million units daily, Minister for Energy Shobha Karandlaje told reporters on Wednesday.
At present there was a gap of about 20 million units between supply and demand, she said and appealed to the people to conserve power by reducing use of fans, fridges and air-conditioners.
She requested the shopping malls to abstain from using elevators and other electric equipments which consume more power. ''People should cooperate with the government to face the situation.''
The four thermal units of Raichur Thermal Power Station which were forced to shut down early this week due to shortage of water would resume energy generation by Thursday in the wake of the release of water from Narayanpura dam, Ms Shobha said.
The government is planning to purchase 990 MegaWatt (MW) of power from private players to tide over the energy crisis.
Though the state was purchasing 250 MW of power from Chhattisgarh, but due to non-availability of transmission corridors only 60 to 80 MW of reached the state grid, she added.
She said that efforts were being made to purchase another 500 MW of power from Gujarat, but it will come through only next year.