10am to 5pm: Powercuts in Bengaluru till Thursday; here's why
Bengaluru residents are likely to face scheduled powercuts between 10:00am and 5:00pm until Thursday this week, Hindustan Times reported. The outages are a result of repair and maintenance works by the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) and the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL). They include line and distribution transformer center (DTC) structure maintenance, jungle clearance, renovation, modernization, ring main unit (RMU) maintenance, tree trimming, Jalasiri 24x7 water supply scheme work, and underground cabling and damage rectification, among others.
Why does this story matter?
Around a hundred areas in Bengaluru are scheduled for powercuts from Tuesday to Thursday. The BESCOM released a list of areas that would be affected. Separately, Karnataka faced a power crisis in recent months due to a drought-induced reduction in production. Last month, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he ordered a stoppage of electricity supply to other states. However, he said the power generation was revived, promising no power interruptions for domestic consumers and industries.
Power outage timings, affected areas
The power outages will reportedly occur between 10:00am and 5:00pm from Tuesday to Thursday in different areas in phases. On Tuesday, areas like Sangapura, Kolihalli, Nandihalli, Pemmanahalli, Kondadahalli, Chikkoda, Hirehalli Industrial Area, Vidhana Soudha, Basavapatna, Chikkahalli, MK Street, Cunningham Road, and Miller Road, among others, were affected. Next, on Wednesday, Siddaveerappa Badavane, Kuvempu Nagara, Mavina Topu, Lakshmi Floor Mill, Nandihalli, Bahadurghatta, Global Mall, Sobha Indraprastha Apartment, Okalipuram, Bevinhalli, Kogunde, and SS Layout A Block, among others, will face power interruptions.
These areas will be affected on Thursday
Finally, on Thursday, areas of Jayanagara, Indira Nagar, Shivaji Nagara, Shivanahalli Park, Adarsha Nagar, Mouneshwara Badavane, Thimmaiah Road, Bhovi Colony, Hondada Circle, Mahaganapati Nagar, Unix Colony, Igoor, Lingadahalli, Chaluvadi Keri, and Oddinahalli, among several others, are scheduled for power outages.
BESCOM shares list of regions hit by power outage
Congress in Karnataka blames previous government for crisis
Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka have allegedly been battling electricity shortages in recent months. In October, State Energy Minister KJ George blamed the previous government for the crisis. He asserted if the power generation level had been better during the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, Karnataka wouldn't have been stuck in such a situation. Last month, Siddaramaiah claimed power consumption in the state saw a 43% rise in 2023 compared to the corresponding period in the previous year.
Government assures at least 7-hour power supply to farmers
To counter the rising demand for power, Karnataka earlier also decided to buy power from Punjab and Uttar Pradesh under power swapping arrangements. Moreover, in November, George said there wouldn't be any additional expenditure for the procurement of power from these states as it was being done under a barter system. The Congress's government in Karnataka also assured a seven-hour power supply to irrigation pump sets (IP) last month.
