The power industry in Karnataka is undergoing a significant transformation, and soon the private sector will make it a reality that might actually be the territory of the State of Karnataka.
For instance, Tata Power have been applying for electricity distribution licences across the different parts of Karnataka for the future of being their power provider and the pricing. Members of the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission said Tata Power has submitted applications for the distribution of power for multiple districts and urban centres that currently operate electricity for state-owned companies.
Application is made for distribution licenses in Bangalore Electricity Supply Company, Hubli Electricity Supply Company, Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation, Mangalore Electricity Supply Company.
This can further be extended for cities like Belagavi, Uttara Kannada, Dharwad, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Hassan, Bengaluru Rural, Chikkaballapur, Kolar, Ramanagara, Tumakuru, Chitradurga, Shivamogga, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi. Kumar P. Ravi, Chairman of KERC, stated that the application was filed as per Section 14 of the Karnataka Electricity Act of 2002 (effective 2003).
If they can afford infrastructure and networks, companies and agencies are allowed to request distribution licences under the provision. The system would also include both public notification of the application, objections to it and hearings in final-decision terms, he emphasised. "This is not privatisation, it is mere private distribution."
While those provisions have been in existence for nearly two decades, it is the first time a company has ever submitted this kind of application,” he said. The law already permits new entrants into the electricity distribution sector for the same group of consumers according to the regulatory context laid out in the rules and regulations, the energy department secretary, Gaurav Gupta, said.
Experts say that the shift would overhaul service quality, competition and efficiency in Karnataka’s electricity sector materially. Consumers may eventually be able to choose which electricity service providers they will buy from based on their price, service quality, and reliability, as those systems have done in other states, like Delhi, Odisha, Mumbai, and many others.
The utility expert and civil society activist Muralidhar Rao praised the achievement, adding that private hands are building stronger infrastructure and reducing transmission and distribution losses. Nations that involve themselves in running private grids tend to see fewer blackouts and better customer service, he said.
Previously, Rao said he had also come to the High Court for the privatisation of the electricity sector. A competitive dimension “would bring greater professionalism, accountability and investment over the long term into the state’s power infrastructure,” he said. The proposal is yet in the nascent stage and awaiting regulatory approval, but could herald a historic change in Karnataka's energy landscape, he said.
If approved, that would completely change how electricity is distributed across the state and make it possible to set up a more open and flexible system for both providing and consuming energy for the public over the next several years.
