The Hindu Business Line : Power situation in Kerala comfortable

Sufficient storage
With the current storage, 1,742 million units could be generated
Currently, 22.3 million units are generated by the hydroelectric projects to meet the demand

Kochi March 30 The power situation in Kerala is comfortable despite the absence of summer rains so far, and there may not be any need for either load shedding or power cuts till the onset of monsoon normally expected in the first week of June.

"The reservoirs of the hydroelectric projects have sufficient water storage to cover the period till the onset of the southwest monsoon," a senior KSEB source told Business Line.

With the current storage, 1,742 million units could be generated. "We will also reserve a storage enough to generate 525 million units to cover 25 days as a contingency measure in case the monsoon is delayed," he said.

Rise in consumption

The consumption has increased in recent weeks because of peak summer. The daily consumption at present is over 45 million units, up from 42 million units last month.

There has been a shortage of 2.76 million units daily for the past two weeks because of some technical problems from the Central grid and this shortfall has been made up by increasing generation from the hydel projects. It is expected to be restored soon, he said. Currently, to meet the demand, 22.3 million units are generated by the hydroelectric projects.

Peak hour demand

The peak hour demand at present is 2,742 MW, of which 1,600 MW is generated by hydel projects and the KSEB's diesel power generating units at Kozhikode and Brahmapuram. The balance is drawn from the central grid. Temporarily, however, "we are passing through tight phase", the source said.

But, the situation does not warrant drawing of high cost power from the thermal plants in the State. The State's share from the central grid is 1,200 MW.

KSEB operates its diesel power plants at Brahmapuram near here (100MW) and Kozhikode (80-90 MW) to meet the peak hour demand.

Highest level of demand is experienced from March till April 15, "i.e., the SSLC examination period", after which it drops. However, there could be problem during the peak summer months due to external factors such as poor frequency from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. In such circumstances, the KSEB would be compelled to draw power from Kayamkulam and BSES thermal plants in the State pushing the purchase cost significantly.

If the full share of the State from the Central grid is made available, the State would not require to draw the high cost power (around Rs 6 a unit) from these thermal plants.