KSEB asked to shed 'surprise' power cuts and instead fix pre-declared time slots

The power shortage in Kerala is so acute that KSEB Limited has imposed load shedding during peak hours from 6.00 pm to midnight. However, unlike in earlier times when power curbs were clamped, the power will go off in households any moment between evening six and midnight. Load is not shed at fixed times.

Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) has taken note of these random, unplanned power cuts that take consumers by surprise. The Commission said it was seriously concerned about the "inconvenience caused to the electricity consumers of the State" as a consequence.

KSEBL's argument is that the shortage is so persistent that, on non-rain days, it could be in the 500-1000 MW range, even after it began procuring 200-400 MW daily at nearly Rs 10 per unit through the DEEP (Discovery of Efficient Electricity Price) portal from June. Now, to at least meet a portion of the shortage, KSEBL has entered into another short-term contract to buy 200 MW daily at Rs 5.96 per unit.

Also, KSEBL says that the erratic nature of the monsoon has made advance prediction of the shortage that various feeders would experience.

The El Niño-induced heat wave conditions had not only pushed up daily power demand but also reduced power availability in the country. And the scarce power available in the energy market is charged at extortionate rates. This combination of factors had forced KSEBL to impose evening peak-hour power restrictions starting in mid-June.

As a point in fact, the practice followed in the entire country is to finalise the electricity demand and supply position a day in advance. The availability from all sources, including the day-ahead market of power exchanges, is also available. "Hence, based on the reasonable and near-term estimate of the electricity demand drawn up after studying the weather conditions and supply availability from each source, KSEBL can reasonably estimate the power shortage for the next day," the KSERC said.

The only uncertainty concerns the availability of power from the Real Time Market (RTM), which, for each time block, can be finalised only two hours in advance. However, the volume of electricity transacted through the RTM is very small.

So, according to the KSERC, nothing prevents KSEBL from finalising the load restriction in an area by 5.00 pm the previous day. "Based on the information on the load of each substation and outgoing feeders, KSEBL can decide the timing and duration of the shedding required in each area/feeder by evening of the previous day," the KSERC said. Since the information is available, necessary communications of the shedding can be intimated to the consumers by the previous day itself.

The Commission also wants KSEBL to adhere to a specific load-shedding schedule for a substation area for at least a week.