Thiruvananthapuram: After a stingy southwest monsoon, the northeast season has been generous to a fault. As of now, the state has received an excess rainfall of 30 per cent, making 2015 one of the most active northeast seasons in history.
In a break from the normal northeast pattern, it had continued to rain heavily even during the middle of December when normally the northeast season enters its fag-end phase.
The vigour of the northeast monsoon was manifested dangerously in the rising level of the Mullaperiyar dam.
Thanks to copious northeast showers, Idukki dam, despite a weak southwest monsoon, has virtually the same level of water as during the last year when there was a strong southwest monsoon. As on December 18, water in the Idukki reservoir is up to 720 metres. Last year same time, it was 726 metres.
Perhaps, the biggest gain from the replenished reservoirs is the low dependence on costly thermal naphtha and diesel power plants. For the first time in nearly a decade, KSEB Limited has virtually ended its dependence on costly naphtha and diesel stations.
During November, off-take from stations like NTPC Kayamkulam, Brahmapuram and Kozhikode diesel power plants was down to the minimum, with not a single unit taken during Sundays when consumption is generally the lowest in the week. During November last year, the average off-take was eight million units a day.
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