No proposal to privatise energy sector in the state: Sunil Kumar

Bengaluru: Energy Minister V Sunil Kumar on Thursday said there was no proposal before the government to privatise the energy sector in the state.

“There was absolutely no plans or proposal before the government to privatise the energy sector in the state, and I want to clarify that there is no need to have any worry about it,” Kumar said.

The Minister was responding to concerns expressed by Congress MLA from Indi Yashwanth Gowda Patil, in this regard during Question Hour in the legislative assembly.

Kumar also cleared apprehensions about the government fixing meters to irrigation pump (IP) sets of farmers, stating that “there was no such plan or proposal before the government.”

Also asserting that there were no plans to install pre-paid electricity meters in the rural areas, he said, the plan before the department is to install prepaid electricity meters in government buildings and for temporary connections. “After consulting the experts, we will decide about future course of action.”

“The bill dues from government offices to the department is to the tune of Rs 5,792 crore, if we don’t set it right, it will be difficult to manage things…without proper revenue it will be difficult to bring in improvements,” he added.

Responding to a question, the Minister said, he along with the Chief Minister will be holding a meeting with industry representatives next week, during which the government will look into their demands including revising power tariffs.

Meanwhile, in reply to legislators Appacchu Ranjan and Lingesh demanding that the government exempt coffee growers IP sets from electricity charges and consider them on par with other farmers, he said the government will consider the same after consulting the Finance Department.

Kumar further said the government is mulling introducing an app, which will serve as ”Transformer Information Management System”, where all transformers will be brought under one app.

“This will help us track any requirement for repair. The aim is to replace faulty transformers within 24 hours,” he said, adding that the government will also create a transformer bank.