Having borrowed power from Uttar Pradesh and Punjab for eight months as part of a power-swapping agreement, Karnataka will return power to the two northern states starting June 16. Karnataka had faced a massive power shortage after electricity production in the state declined at hydropower plants owing to drought last year, along with inadequate supply from coal-based thermal plants. The thermal plants were hit after Karnataka received a supply of wet coal, unfit for power production. According to Energy Minister K J George, Karnataka had swapped 300 MW to 600 MW power with Uttar Pradesh on a daily basis from October 2023 to May 2024. A similar agreement was signed with Punjab which supplied 500 MW of round-the-clock power from November 2023 to May 2024. “The same will be returned from June 16 to September 30,” he said. During the summer months, when Karnataka faced heat wave conditions, power consumption in the state had surged. The peak demand touched a new high on February 12 this year when 17,220 MW was consumed in the state, according to a statement issued by the minister. Owing to poor rainfall, peak demand on August 25, 2023, was 16,950 MW, compared to the demand of 11,268 MW on the same date in 2022. Karnataka was staring at a daily shortage of 1,500-2,000 MW in August last year after which the state resorted to swapping power with the northern states. A weak monsoon had resulted in low storage in hydroelectric plants, causing a generation loss of 2,970 mega units last year. Wind energy plants had also taken a hit, generating just six mega units in August, compared with the energy generation of up to 23 mega units during the summer months of 2023.
