Thiruvananthapuram: Blame it on the heat. The daily power consumption in the state has soared beyond even the back of the envelope estimates made by KSEB Ltd.
On March 10, the day after SSLC examinations began, the state recorded a consumption of 74.77 million units, the highest ever consumption a day in the history of the state.
Consumption fell marginally in the intervening days, but it is gradually inching back to the record level, even threatening to cross it. On March 18, the daily consumption was 74.53 MU.
Last year, the average consumption during March was 65 MU. Even when summer was at its peak in mid April last year, consumption never crossed 70 MU. However, KSEB Ltd is not overly concerned. "Consumption is clearly high, use of air-conditioners and invertors have gone up. But the situation is not alarming. Things will get back to normal once we get summer rains," said generation chief engineer Brijlal V. He said that KSEBL had planned its generation and power purchase much in advance and in a methodical manner. "We have ensured that our reservoirs have reserve water, more than what is necessary, to meet any unforeseen emergencies," Mr Brijlal said.
Hydel generation, despite the soaring consumption, has been limited to 21 MU. Nearly 70 per cent of the state's needs is met from central generating stations, from where power is taken at a cost below Rs 2 per unit. The State also secures power from Brahmapuram and Kozhikode diesel power stations. "But this is purchased at an average of Rs 4.50 per unit, unlike last year when we used to get power at over Rs 10 per unit," the chief engineer said.
What continues to stand KSEBL in good stead is the timely medium- and long-term contracts it had struck with power traders. This has allowed KSEBL to get power at a relatively cheaper rate from private sources. With the commissioning of Mysore-Areekode transmission line, supply-side constraints too had eased considerably.
