Karnataka Power Minister, Shobha Karandlaje, has sought the State’s due share of electricity from the Kudankulam nuclear power plant.
Speaking on the sidelines of the foundation stone laying ceremony for the new corporate office building of Mescom (Mangalore Electricity Supply Company) here on Thursday, she said the Kudankulam plant is likely to be commissioned by December.
She said that recently she saw a press statement of the Central Minister, Narayanaswamy, where he had stated that the entire power produced from the first unit of the plant will be given to Tamil Nadu.
Terming the statement as painful, she said all the southern states are eligible for a share of power from that plant under the Gadgil formula. According to this, the State which produces power should get 50 per cent of the power and the rest should be distributed among the neighbouring states.
She said that Karnataka is eligible for 250 MW of power from the plant. Similarly other southern states such as Andhra Pradesh and Kerala are also eligible for their share.
If the Centre decides to allocate the entire production from Kudankulam plant to Tamil Nadu, then Karnataka will be forced to seek the supply of entire production from the Kaiga nuclear plant to the State, she said.
“We believe in cordial relationship. If we face problem in the allocation of resources such as water and power, we can’t tolerate. Other states should also protest this. We should ensure that we get our due share from Kudankulam plant,” Karandlaje said.