Ensure uninterrupted power supply, HDK tells officials

Bengaluru: Amid reports of a looming power crisis, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday directed concerned officials to ensure there was interruption in power supply in the state.

Holding the central government responsible for the power crisis, Kumaraswamy asked officials to utilise hydro and solar power facilities to avoid load-shedding. 

"As the supply of coal in the state was not in accordance with the agreement that was reached with the Centre, power generation at the Raichur Thermal Power Plant has suffered," an official release, quoting Kumaraswamy said. 

The chief minister had recently tweeted about the shortage in coal supply to the state and requested the Union Coal Minister Piyush Goyal to look into the issue. 

"Coal scarcity in the State's Thermal Power Stations: Raichur Thermal Power Station (RTPS) with 1,720 MW capacity has zero coal stock. 

WCL, a Government of India Coal Company has short supplied about 6 Lakh MT of coal to RTPS this year against the Fuel Supply Agreement (FSA) quantity resulting in this situation (shortage)," Kumaraswamy had said in a tweet. 

"I have requested honourable Coal Minister of Union Government Piyush Goyai to make good this deficit from Mahanadi Coal Fields (MCL). 

I even requested the minister that in the coming days WCL should ensure supply of FSA quantity in full for sustainable power generation in Karnataka," he had said in another tweet.