Thiruvananthapuram: Facing a severe financial crisis, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has decided to disconnect the supply to all consumers who have arrears on their bills. Only the pump-houses of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) would be exempted from the move.
With power consumption in Kerala breaking records every day, KSEB is forced to purchase electricity from sources outside the state at a high cost. For instance, 9.31949 crore units were bought on Friday.
At the same time, KSEB is going slow on commissioning seven hydroelectric projects having a capacity of 400 megawatts. In fact, work on the Bhoothathankettu project is almost 99-percent complete, but the government has yet to inaugurate it.
Solar power
KSEB officers said that one of the reasons for the power shortage is the higher nighttime consumption by consumers who generate solar power. Under the existing rules, consumers supplying solar power to the KSEB during daytime need not pay for the electricity they utilize at night. Consequently, many of these consumers consume power without any control, said the officers. In view of the situation, KSEB is considering a special tariff for power consumed during peak hours, when the supply is arranged by buying expensive power from outside the state.
Control room
Considering the power crisis, KSEB has opened a control room at Vydyuthi Bhavan, its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, to integrate the measures to rectify disruptions at the state-level. The control room will oversee issues such as overload on power lines, load regulation in substations and management of demand and supply at different hours of the day.
How to reduce consumption
Consumers can cut power consumption during the peak hours of 6 pm to 2 am by resorting to the following measures:
- Fans: Install BLDC fans which use less electricity; use electronic regulators and operate the fan at slow speeds.
- AC: Set the temperature of the air-conditioner to 26 or 27-degrees Centigrade.
- LED: Replace all the old bulbs and tube-lights with LED lamps. Remove tube-lights with choke.
- Daytime use of devices: Use devices that consume high levels of electricity such as induction cooker, oven, washing machine, electric oven and water-pump only during daytime.
- Vehicle-charging: Charge electric vehicles during the day hours. Provide facilities for charging vehicles of employees at offices.
- Decorative illumination: Avoid use of decorative lamps and illumination in the exteriors and interiors of your house.
- Optimal utilisation: Switch on lights and fans only when they are very essential.
- Business establishments: Shops and other commercial centres should keep decorative lights switched off.
- Public spaces: Avoid decorative illumination in public areas.