KSEB announces 15-min power cut from today, assures normalcy in two days

The nationwide coal crisis and the intensifying summer have finally caught up with Kerala. KSEB has introduced a short-duration 15-minute power cut during peak hours between 6.30 p.m. and 11.30 p.m. from Thursday. Urban areas, hospitals and essential services will be exempted.

Daily consumption in Kerala touched a record figure of 92.04 million units on April 27. Daily consumption nearly touched 90 MU on April 21; 89.63 MU consumed on the day was an all-time record. The standing record till then was 89.62 MU consumed just a month ago on March 15.

Daily consumption then crossed 90 MU for the first time on April 26 when it clocked 90.70. On April 27, the consumption inched even higher. "Now, it looks like we are setting a new consumption record with every passing day," a top KSEB official said.

Thanks to the overall spike in power consumption and the fall in thermal power generation owing to a shortage of coal, there is a shortfall of 10.7 gigawatts at the national level. During the peak hours, between 6.30-11.30 p.m., Kerala would require 4580 MW daily. At this stage, there is a shortfall of 400-500 MW during this time period.

According to KSEB officials, 200 MW would be imported from Andhra Pradesh. In addition, the 96-MW Kozhikode Diesel Plant, which has been lying idle, will be made operational. KSEB officials said these two steps would bring the power situation back to normal in two days.

The recent shortage of coal has led to reduced power generation at three plants, a technical problem at a plant in Bengal is believed to be the major factor for the current crisis.

KSEB officials are also counting on some days of summer rains to alleviate the problem.