Although daily power consumption in the State has touched 80 million units (MU) during March, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is well prepared to meet the summer demand, KSEB officials said.
Storage in the hydel dams stand at 62%, which is adequate to generate 2,564.3 MU. This is also the highest in recent years. The power utility has tied up power to meet the summer demand and is filling up small gaps in the requirement via purchases on the Power Exchange, KSEB officials said.
Poll factor
Further, the State-run power utility has also begun sourcing power from the NTPC’s Rajiv Gandhi Combined Cycle Power Project (RGCCP), Kayamkulam, under an agreement to purchase power from RGCCP till March end, or until the naphtha stocks there are exhausted.
Apart from rising temperature, the upcoming Assembly polls too will cause a spike in daily power consumption. On March 5, it stood at 80.2 MU. On the same day last year, consumption stood at 78.94 MU, show state load despatch centre data. That said, the record for the highest single-day consumption in the State is 88.34 MU, recorded on May 23, 2019.
Nonetheless, barring unexpected developments, the chances of a power crisis is quite remote this summer, KSEB officials said.
Import capacity up
The present power consumption pattern is not unexpected, said KSEB chairman and managing director N.S. Pillai. “The daily consumption is now averaging 80 MU, which we were expecting. If there are no summer showers and the heat increases, consumption could cross 85 MU or even touch 90 MU. Even then, we are prepared to meet the demand,” he said. Moreover, with the commissioning of the 2000 MW Pugalur-Madakkathara (Thrissur) line, the State’s capability of importing power has gone up considerably.
In its seasonal outlook for March-May published on March 1, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had noted that below-normal seasonal maximum temperatures are likely over most of southern India.
