Latest news with #Escoms
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Centre extends Kusum-C solarproject deadline to March 2026
Bengaluru: Facing multiple hurdles in going ahead with the centrally sponsored PM-Kusum-C solar project, the state govt received a shot in the arm with the Centre extending the deadline for its implementation to March 2026. Launched a year ago, Karnataka was supposed to solarise 389 power substations under all five electricity supply companies (Escoms) by Dec 2024. However, the state govt commissioned only about 15 stations, while the work on 370 plus substations is still in progress under PM-Kusum-C (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyaan). CM Siddaramaiah is scheduled to inaugurate one of the commissioned stations at Gauribidanur in Chikkaballapur district Thursday. The slow pace of the project in Karnataka is largely attributed to the delay in identifying and acquiring suitable land for setting up solar plants. "The solar plants need to be within a radius of 5-10km from substations, making it easier for the evacuation of power. While in some villages there was govt land, in some other villages, the govt land was not suitable for setting up solar plants, and we had to acquire private land on a lease basis. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch CFD với công nghệ và tốc độ tốt hơn IC Markets Đăng ký Undo Even if there was land, the project agency spent considerable time levelling the ground for setting up solar plants. These hurdles in getting suitable land impacted the project considerably," explained a senior energy department official. This apart, drawing of transmission lines also turned out to be a major hindrance. "In a few substation limits, the lines had to be drawn over private lands, and farmers were sceptical that they couldn't cultivate any fruit-bearing trees if they allowed any transmission lines over their fields or demanded compensation to allow installation of concrete poles to set up transmission lines... We had to bypass such fields, and eventually, project implementing agencies had to take transmission lines underground at some locations," explained another engineer. Acknowledging the delay in the availability of land, energy minister KJ George said efforts were made in every district by taking MLAs into confidence. "I agree that we could commission only a few of the substations. But nearly 90 per cent of the work is in various stages, and in a month or two, they will also be completed, and generation will start," the minister explained.
The Hindu
04-06-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Gruha Jyothi scheme has seen 99% success in Mysuru district: George
Energy Minister K.J. George on Wednesday said Mysuru district had achieved a 99% success rate in the implementation of the Gruha Jyothi scheme, which provides free electricity to eligible households. Speaking to the mediapersons after a departmental progress review meeting, the Minister said the State government allocates ₹9,000 crore annually to Escoms under the guarantee scheme of supplying free power to the beneficiaries. Mr. George promised that in the event of a transformer failure, restoration will be completed within 24 hours in urban areas and within 48 hours in rural areas. During the meeting, K.R. Nagar MLA, D. Ravishankar, raised concerns about the conduct of CESC staff and linemen, alleging that they were unresponsive and discourteous towards farmers. Responding to the complaint, the Minister stated that strict action would be taken against any official or lineman found misbehaving with farmers. All staff must handle power-related grievances with courtesy and responsibility, he instructed. CESC managing director K.M. Munigopal Raju informed that the underground cabling work in Mysuru city is progressing well and will be completed in the next two years. Despite damage caused by recent heavy rains, emergency measures have been initiated to restore power supply and maintain infrastructure. He said power projects across the CESC jurisdiction are being implemented efficiently and on schedule.
The Hindu
17-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Policy on subsidy for irrigation pump sets is unconstitutional as it denies benefit to farmers' societies
The court directed the government of Karnataka and all the electricity supply companies (Escoms) to review, reconsider, and amend the existing policy framework governing the agricultural power subsidies, ensuring that farmer societies are treated at par with individual farmers. Six-month deadline The authorities must frame and notify appropriate guidelines within a reasonable period, preferably within six months, to extend power tariff subsidy to registered farmer societies, in a manner that aligns with the principles of equality, promotes cooperative farming, and advances the broader goals of sustainable agricultural development, the court said. Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum issued the directions while partly allowing the petition filed by Shrishail Irappa Kempwad, secretary of Sri Shrimant (Tatya) Patil Neeru Balakedrara Sangha, and Thammanna Annappa Pujari, secretary, Ravalanath Yeta Neeru Balakedarara Sangha of Athani taluk in Belagavi district. The court said that the authorities, while amending the policy, could extended subsidy to societies with conditions based on per capita consumption, or landholding, or aggregate power consumption per member of the society. Denial arbitrary 'The denial of power subsidy to registered farmer societies, solely on the ground that their collective consumption exceeds a prescribed limit, is hereby declared unconstitutional and arbitrary,' the court said. 'The practice of differentiating between individual farmers and societies, based purely on collective consumption, is found to be inconsistent with the constitutional mandate of equality before the law under Article 14 of the Constitution of India,' the court observed. 'Denial of subsidies to societies defies logic as the government, which encourages cooperative farming and resource-sharing among small and marginal farmers, cannot deny subsidy to these societies solely because their collective power consumption exceeds a prescribed limit, even when the per capita consumption of each individual farmer may be lower than the prescribed threshold for individual subsidy eligibility'. Denying subsidies to farmers' societies amounts to penalising farmers who organise into collectives, and discourages cooperative farming, which is a critical aspect of ensuring long-term sustainability in Indian agriculture, as it reduces costs and increases efficiency, the court said. Unmetered connections The court noted that the government is releasing subsidy of several thousands of crores even to unmetered irrigation pump sets of individual farmers contrary to the law, which prescribes proper measurement of power consumption by installing meters, as the subsidy is released to escoms merely on the basis of estimated consumption of power by each unmetered irrigation pump set. The current practice of allowing subsidies for unmetered installations based on estimated consumption while denying subsidy to farmer societies despite their per capita consumption being within the eligibility limit, constitutes a clear violation of both statutory and constitutional mandates, the court said while pointing out that this action is not only legally flawed, but also defeats the very purpose of agricultural subsidies, discourages cooperative farming, and promotes inefficiency and wastefulness in electricity consumption.
