‘New policy to focus on green hydrogen, hybrid power parks’

A first-time minister, Karkala MLA V Sunil Kumar is driving several reforms in the Energy Department. Importantly, Kumar is overseeing the preparation of Karnataka’s new renewable energy. Kumar spoke to Bharath Joshi of DH on the progress so far. Excerpts:

Soon after taking charge, you announced a 100-day programme. What are the achievements?

In the 100-day programme, we planned three stages. One, some works needed to be started; two, some needed to be finished; and three, some needed policies for the long run. We managed to do these three as planned. For example, we planned the Belaku scheme to power up rural households. About two lakh households were reached. We planned to start transformer banks. The idea is to replace faulty or defunct transformers within 24 hours. This also has been started. We now have some 260 banks and 160 repair centres. On the policy front, we are working on a renewable energy policy, which will be placed before the Cabinet for approval. Another plan is named Janasnehi, which is to ensure name changes and other things are done within 24 hours. While this started within 100 days, it will be implemented after it is announced in the next budget.

What can we expect from the new renewable energy policy?

We don't have storage capacity. The power that gets generated has to be used or sold immediately. So, the policy will focus more on this. We're establishing hybrid parks where solar and wind energies will be tapped. At present, solar is in one place and wind in another. We will have hybrid parks in each district. And, there's clean energy that we are working on in the backdrop of the green hydrogen policy that is getting rolled out. We are preparing to see Karnataka take the lead on green hydrogen.

What exactly is a transformer bank?

Earlier, whenever a transformer caught fire or broke down, the respective sub-division had to ask other sub-divisions. Now, in every sub-division, we have stocks. That's why we call it a bank. There are 260 banks that have 25 KV, 63 KV, 100 KV transformers. And, we can't simply issue orders that a faulty transformer should be replaced within 24 hours. We have procured the necessary equipment to make this happen. We looked at the rate of transformer failures during summer last year based on which we have prepared. There are also repair centres that we've started with the idea that a faulty transformer should get repaired within 36 hours. Then, we've provided vehicles to transport the transformers. We planned all this first before announcing it.

And, is this plan working on the ground?

We've managed 90%. In some places, a transformer fault may come to our notice late, leading to a delay. We may see many transformers failing in a single day due to lightning and bad weather conditions, causing delays. Otherwise, we're replacing transformers within 24 hours. More importantly, there used to be corruption in this. There were complaints that farmers were being asked to pay bribes. We have stopped this 100%. No such complaints are being received. And, we used to see farmers themselves carrying the transformers on tractors. Gradually, things are falling in place as we roll out such reforms.

Speaking of reforms and corruption, it seems there are irregularities in the Niranthara Jyoti scheme that envisages 24x7 power supply.

Yes, we found irregularities in several districts, but the highest was in the Shivamogga district. There, works were not done as per estimates - the number of poles that had to be erected, length of the wiring, non-compliance to deadlines and so on. There are allegations that engineers worked at the behest of contractors. For example, completion certificates did not have dates. We have taken action. In these six months, those who misuse government money have been warned of strict action. Now, officials are scared and they know they can't do as they please. While these things can't be changed overnight, we have made a start.

Karnataka is seen as an energy-efficient state. Still, 24x7 power supply isn't a reality across the state.

We are giving 24x7 power supply to domestic users. There may be issues when it comes to industries. In some places, there are obstacles in transmission. In that backdrop, we have started preparation to establish more substations under the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. Yes, while we have enough and more (surplus) power that is getting generated, there were shortcomings in our transmission capacity. But now we have started taking power to the villages, giving three-phased supply, bifurcating transformers wherever one supplies power to hundreds of homes and so on. On this front, the Centre's Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) scheme has been given to Karnataka and we plan to make full use of it.

Are we still purchasing power from outside?

We are not really purchasing power. We're thinking of a new kind of trading. During the day, we're getting green energy in a big way. Solar, for example. Since this is generated more than the demand, we have to sell it in small quantities at least. During the night, we may fall short on wind energy, and this won't be under our control. So, whatever money we make from selling the excess power will be used to buy from outside to make up for any shortfall. Other than this, we're not giving any special focus on power purchases. We're using what we have and managing it well.

So, will you cancel the existing power purchase agreements?

No. The agreements have their periods defined. Cancelling them will amount to a violation and people will go to court and all that. So, we don't have any such plans.