|
The erstwhile Mysore State had the enviable and glorious position of establishing the first
major hydroelectric generating station for commercial operations at Shivasamudram as early
as 1902.
The art at that time was still in its infancy, even in the advanced countries. The longest
transmission line, at the highest voltage in the world, was constructed to meet the power
needs of mining operations at Kolar Gold Fields.
The generating capacity of the Shivasamudram Power House gradually increased to 42 MW in stages.
To meet the increasing demand for power, the Shimsha Generating Station, with an installed capacity
of 17.2 MW, was commissioned in the year 1940. The power demand was ever on the increase, for
industries and rural electrification, and additions to generating capacity became imperative. The 1st Stage
of 48 MW and 2nd stage of 72 MW of the Mahatma Gandhi Hydroelectric Station were commissioned during
1948 and 1965, respectively.
The State of Karnataka, with availability of cheap electric power, and other infrastructure
facilities, was conducive for increased tempo of industrial activity. It became necessary to augment
the power-generating capacity by harnessing the entire potential of the Sharavathi Valley. The
first unit of 89.1 MW was commissioned in 1964 and completed in 1977.
The demand for power saw a phenomenal increase in the mid sixties and onwards with the setting up of
many public sector and private industries in the State. As power generation in the state was entirely
dependent on monsoon and was subject to its vagaries, the state government set up a coal based power
plant at Raichur. The present installed capacity of the power plant at Raichur is 1260 MW. To augment
the energy resources of the State, the Kalinadi Project with an installed capacity of 810 MW at Nagahari
Power House and 100MW at Supa Dam Power House, with an energy potential of 4,112 Mkwh, were set up.
The transmission and distribution system in the state was under the control of the Government of
Karnataka (then Mysore) till year 1957. In the year 1957, MSEB was formed and the
private distribution companies were amalgamated with Karnataka Electricity Board.
Till the year 1986, KEB was a profit-making organisation. However, in the subsequent years, like other
State Electricity Boards in the country, KEB also started incurring losses, mainly due to the increase
in agricultural consumption and due to the implementation of the socio-economic policies of the
government.
To improve the performance of the power sector and in tune with the reforms initiated by Government of
India, the Government of Karnataka came out with a general policy proposing fundamental and radical
reforms in the power sector. Accordingly an Act, namely the Karnataka Electricity Reforms Act was passed
by the Karnataka Legislature. The Reform has mandated major restructuring of the Karnataka
Electricity Board and its Corporatisation. As part of corporatisation, Karnataka Electricity
Board ceased to exit and Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited was constituted from 1st August 1999.
As a part of the reforms, the distribution sector was further divided into 4 companies viz. Bangalore
Electricity Supply Company Limited – BESCOM; Hubli Electricity Supply Company Limited - HESCOM; Mangalore
Electricity Supply Company Limited – MESCOM; Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company Limited - GESCOM. These
companies came into existence from 1st June 2002.
|
