It may be raining cats and dogs across the state with even catchment areas receiving good rain but the power situation remains as grim as ever. The weak monsoon, which has resulted in a drought-like situation, has led to an indiscriminate drilling of borewells. If these borewells start using power without any check, it will put more pressure on the grid, leading to a north India like blackout in Karnataka too, said energy minister Shobha Karandlaje. Speaking to reporters here on Tuesday, Ms Karandlaje said all borewells have to depend on power to pump out water. This year alone, over one lakh borewells are expected to be drilled for water in Karnataka. Rampant use of power might affect the grid triggering a collapse which would severely hit life, she warned.
At the national level, power consumption is growing at well below 10 per cent but in Karnataka, the figure is over 19 per cent. “The infrastructure we have, is not capable of handling such a huge demand for power. We are upgrading the system but there will still be pressure on the grid,’’ she said. Answering a question, the minister said that around 500 mw from Raichur Thermal Power Station (RTPS) and another 500 mw from Neria plant in Udupi district would be added to the grid soon. “The state does not have a proper corridor linking us to north India to enable us get power from those states,” she said.