The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has imposed daytime power supply restrictions, between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., for two days from Thursday in view of a 450-MW deficit in supply from private generators and Central power-generating stations.
The curbs, in addition to a one-hour cyclic load-shedding already in force, have been necessitated by rising power consumption and scanty rainfall.
The consumption during the past 24 hours has been pegged at 61.51 million units.
KSEB sources told The Hindu on Thursday that it had been targeted to source 550 MW from southern region private generators this summer to cope with an increasing demand and a fall in generation at hydropower stations owing to a shortfall in rain. But the KSEB could realise only 200 MW to 250 MW from these suppliers.
The general tendency of private generators to go in for better options to capitalise on the surge in power demand is also being cited as one of the reasons for the shortfall in supply.
It was expected to secure 428 MW from coal-based plants in Orissa, but the State could get only 200 MW.
The situation at the coal plants is likely to improve with the intervention of the NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation) in a week. During last summer also there were problems in coal transportation and these were solved subsequently.
The hitches in supply from the southern region generators may also be sorted out in two days.
If this gets delayed, the KSEB will be forced to continue the restrictions for some more days. The board is also pinning its hopes on the summer rain. If it fails, the situation may turn grim, the sources said.
