Annual power generation from renewable sources — small hydro, wind, and solar — rose by 26.6% in 2022-23 over the previous fiscal in Kerala, according to an annual report on the State’s power system published by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).
Total generation from the three renewable energy (RE) sources went up from 1,713.30 million units (mu) in 2021-22 to 2,169.06 mu in 2022-23, the Power System Statistics Report for 2022-23 says.
Renewable energy generation from non-solar sources (small hydro and wind) increased from 1,208.60 mu to 1,312.43 mu. This includes the annual output from 26 small hydro stations run by the KSEB, two captive power plants (CPP), nine independent power plants (IPP) in the small hydro sector, and wind generation by the KSEB and IPPs.
Annual solar power generation, by the KSEB and IPPs, increased to 856.63 mu from 504.70 mu during the same period.
It should be noted that internal generation meets only about 30% of Kerala’s power demand. The State is heavily dependent on power ‘imports’ and purchases from outside for filling the demand-supply gap.
The report indicates a spurt in power generation by the net-metered solar ‘prosumers’ — electricity consumers who also produce RE and inject it into the grid.
Generation by net-metered solar prosumers in the low tension (LT) category increased from 197.85 mu in 2021-22 to 339.18 mu in 2022-23, and that of the net-metered high tension (HT) and extra high tension categories from 59.33 mu to 129.43 mu (including generation by the solar units of Cochin International Airport Ltd and Kochi Metro Rail Ltd).
During 2022-23, the total revenue from power sales increased to ₹17,705 crore from ₹15,665 crore in the previous fiscal. The KSEB sold 25,383.76 mu within Kerala and 1,813.11 mu outside the State in 2022-23, the report says.
The total installed capacity of the State’s power sector — including large and small hydro, thermal, wind and solar — went up from 3,145.98 megawatt (MW) in 2021-22 to 3,514.81 MW in 2022-23. On the other hand, the State’s annual energy requirement also revealed an uptick. It rose from 21,264.51 mu to 27,741.54 mu, as the number of consumers also rose from a little over 1.34 crore to a little over 1.36 crore.
