Kochi: The KSEB Limited has sounded a warning regarding the power situation in the state in the wake of the late start of southwest monsoon and its weak performance so far.
A high-level committee meeting of senior officers of KSEBL including its CMD held on Thursday reviewed the power situation in the state including storage in various dams and potential generation capabilities in the wake of weak monsoon so far.
The meeting noted that the storage position on the day was 476 million units which is almost similar to the situation in 2017 when monsoon was delayed. The depression formed on June 8 and consequent formation of Vayu in Arabian Sea diluted the possibility of monsoon expected in the second week of June.
The inflow pattern and consumption trends till date indicate that the state is in the summer mood. As such the state will be going with 12 million units (MU)/day generation/use till we reach overall storage position of 390MU. Once it reaches 390MU, the meeting decided to put on alert levels for the purpose of further reduction in hydro generation and to adopt alternate system operation measures to meet the consumption. Then it can come down to 10 MU, 8 MU or even 5 MU if weak monsoon persists, said an official.
“Even with 12MU hydro utilisation, the current power import capability is around 63MU. As such the maximum consumption that could be met is only 75MU. Any consumption beyond that may require additional import of power or other alternate means. Additional import as such is not possible due to corridor limitations,” the meeting noted.
It was expected that the Edamon-Kochi 400KV circuit could be commissioned by March 2019 whereby the inter-state transmission corridor capacity for import of power will enhance by another 1000MW equivalent to 24MU.
