State govt. to work with power supply firms to ensure seven hours electricity for pumpsets during day

The State government will work with the various State-run power companies to ensure that farmers get at least seven hours of power supply during the day, Minister K.J. George said on Wednesday.

“Our government is giving top priority to KUSUM-B and KUSUM-C schemes to supply uninterrupted seven hours of electricity to agricultural pumpsets belonging to farmers during the day, Mr. George said.

He was speaking after reviewing the progress of work under his department at the Zilla Panchayat Hall in Gadag.

He said that irrigation pumpsets located 500 m outside the power grid will be provided with solar power under the KUSUM-B scheme. He said that the subsidy provided by the State government under this scheme has been increased from 30% to 50%.

“Similarly, solarization of agricultural feeders is being done under the KUSUM-C scheme. This will enable farmers to supply electricity to run their agricultural pumpsets for seven hours during the day,” he said.

“When we came to power in 2023, there were 4.5 lakh illegal agricultural pumpsets in the State. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah issued orders to regularise 2.5 lakh agricultural pumpsets. The work of regularising the remaining pumpsets will be completed in another year. In addition, we have implemented a renewed swift connection scheme for farmers who want to get electricity connection quickly,” he said.

The Minister said that ESCOMs will provide transformers if farmers are to create basic infrastructure, including electricity network, at their own expense.

He said that there has been only one month of power shortage during Siddaramaiah’s tenure. “The problem was solved by getting electricity on an exchange basis from the States of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Currently, we do not have power scarcity. Priority is being given to more power generation with the aim of providing continuous power supply to farmers,” he said.

“Infrastructure is being increased in the State to provide adequate power supply. As many as 100 new power substations are being built by KPTCL. Their number will increase in the coming years. Power generated from renewable sources is being stored for future use,” he said.

“To ensure the timely installation of transformers, we have set up a transformer bank. There is no delay in installation or repair. Officials have been instructed to transport transformers in the department’s vehicle so as not to burden farmers. The recruitment process for 3,000 powermen will be completed in another month,” he said.

“The coverage of the State government’s guarantee scheme Gruha Jyothi has reached 99% of the targeted households,” Mr. George said.

District in-charge Minister H.K. Patil said that Gadag district has high potential for solar and wind power generation.

He urged farmers to seek benefits from it. He urged the Minister to extend concessions to Gadag district, like in the case of Uttara Kannada, to generate renewable energy.

MLAs, MLCs, HESCOM chairman Syed Azim Peer S. Qadri, KPTCL Managing Director Pankaj Kumar Pandey, HESCOM Managing Director Vaishali M.L., Deputy Commissioner C.N. Sridhar, Superintendent of Police Rohan Jagadish and others were present.