Indications are that Kerala is slowly beginning to feel the impact of the coal shortage that has hit thermal power stations across the country, even as the summer electricity demand is soaring.
Between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. - the peak evening hours - the State is facing a shortage of about 400 megawatts (MW) at present, a meeting of the full-time director board of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) found.
It has been decided to control the sale of surplus electricity outside the State for the time being, given the reports that the initial spells of the southwest monsoon in June will be weaker by 20%, the KSEB said. Sale will be resumed at a normal pace when thermal power imports attain normalcy.
The KSEB is also exploring the option of sourcing power from the NTPC station at Kayamkulam and the diesel power plant at Nallalam, Kozhikode.
So far, none of the thermal stations outside the State with which KSEB has contracts for supply has reported coal shortages.. While the State is yet to feel the impact as much as like Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, the KSEB has managed to meet the soaring summer demand of the past two days through emergency measures.
Electricity consumption in the State has for the first time crossed the 90 million unit (MU) mark. Daily consumption stood at 90.37 MU on March 26, Tuesday. Kerala met this demand through 32.25 MU of internal generation and 58.12 MU of imports. This is the third time that the record for daily consumption got broken this summer season. Consumption touched a new record 89.6 MU on March 15, which was broken again on March 21 (89.74 MU).
