Minister for Electricity A. K. Balan said here on Saturday that there would be no electricity deficit next year as the State would be in a position to draw power from the Koodamkulam thermal project and Kuttiyadi additional extension.
The Minister was speaking at the launch of Time of Day metering service of Kerala State Electricity Board and a seminar on the new facility at Kalamassery. The programme was organised by Kerala State Small Industries Association (KSSIA).
The Minister said that with the introduction of TOD metering service, industrial sector in the State has entered a new era. The TOD metering service will end most of the problems faced by low tension consumers. The concept of connected load will shift to the concept of maximum demand.
By introducing the TOD metering service, low tension consumers, small industrial units, will be able to save up to 15 per cent on electricity charges if the power is consumed during the off-peak period.
Mr. Balan said that the Kerala government had drawn up a 10-year plan to make the State energy surplus and had begun work on the plan.
There was a crisis-like situation in the country as a whole on the electricity front. The Union Government has not been able to meet the generation targets set in the succeeding Five-Year Plans.
On Kerala's action plan are several small projects that will add a total of 730 MW of generation. However, to reach the additional generation target of 3,000 small projects alone would not do, said the Minister.
It is with this in view that the State government plans to set up the super thermal power plant at Cheemeni. He said that more than 2,000 acres was ready for the project and coal for the project would be sourced from Orissa.
The proposed hydro-electric project at Athirappally was another venture that the State had looked forward to. However, it has been objected to by a Minister, said Mr. Balan.
Besides additional generation, the Electricity Board was resorting to spreading awareness about better and more efficient use of electricity. The decision to distribute 1.5 crore CFL lamps is one such step. More than 10 lakh CFL lamps had been given away to BPL families. The rest of the lamps will be distributed without regard to APL/BPL status.
Shaji Sebastian of KSSIA, welcomed the gathering. A. M. Yousef, MLA and D. S. Girija Devi, Chief Engineer, KSEB (Central) offered felicitations. V. K. C. Mammed Koya, president of KSSIA, spoke.
