The Hindu Business Line : Karnataka working to improve energy efficiency: CM

The Chief Minister, Mr Dharam Singh, greeting the Executive Director, IEA, Mr William C. Ramsay, at the inauguration of international workshop on `Standards and Labelling for consumer appliances' in Bangalore on Wednesday. The Minister for Public Works and Energy, Mr H.D. Revanna, is on the right. - Sampath Kumar G.P.

Bangalore , Oct. 13

WITH good inflows into Karnataka's reservoirs, the off-take from the hydel generating States is about 14 million units per day.

Speaking at an international workshop on standards and labelling for consumer appliances for energy efficiency, the Karnataka Chief Minister, Mr Dharam Singh, said the benefits of a good rainfall was beginning to percolate into the State's farm sector. This is expected to help the State accelerate the economic growth rate to double digits, he said.

The two-day workshop, which began on Wednesday, is organised by the Union Ministry for Power and the International Energy Agency.

Mr Dharam Singh said the Almatti Hydel Project was due for commissioning. Besides, the work on the gas-based Bidadi project was in progress. These additions, he said, will, however, not be sufficient to meet the increasing energy demand.

Consequently, the move is to double the generation capacity in the State in 10 years. He said the State was also focussing on efficient energy use to reduce the demand for electricity.

The Chief Minister said the State was working on a policy shift to improve energy efficiency. This involved a shift from a supply-dominated approach to an integrated effort, incorporating a judicial mix of investment in capacity addition and operational efficiency improvement in generation, transmission and distribution. The State is working on end-use efficiency and renewable resources, he said.