Bengaluru, Nov 22 : The Karnataka government has decided to procure power from Uttar Pradesh and Punjab in a bid to deal with any power crisis in the southern state in the coming times. Speaking to reporters, Karnataka Minister for Energy K.J. George on Tuesday said the expected average power demand for February, March and April 2024 would be around 15,500 to 16,500 MW. "To cater to the demands of the state, steps have been taken for the procurement of power from the energy market and swapping of power from Punjab (300 MW) and Uttar Pradesh (100-600 MW)," he stated. "Captive coal mining under private or joint venture in Chattisgarh, will be taken up by the state," he said. "Increasing the state thermal generation to the maximum level possible and generators on AOH have been brought back into operation. Generation from KPCL thermal stations has been increased to an extent of 3,500 MW," he said. "After improving power generation, and taking other needful steps, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah instructed the restoration of 7 hours of power supply to the feeders," he said. The Minister further said "the state government has done everything to improve power availability to cater to the increased demand due to severe drought". He also announced that the government of Karnataka has decided to waive off certain outstanding amounts. He said the government has added 1,100 MW Hybrid (wind, solar and storage) capacity from Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to meet the increasing electricity demand. The government has signed an MoU with Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC) to implement more than 2,500 MW of solar, wind, and pumped hydro projects in the state with an investment of Rs 15,000 crore, he said. Giving details of the Griha Jyothi free power scheme, George said that 1.61 crore customers have registered so far and 1.50 crore are availing benefits. Total subsidy amount per month '''spent is Rs 780 crore and the total subsidy amount released till date is Rs 2,900 crore, he added. /IANS