Monday is a critical day for the crisis-hit Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) with Electricity Minister K. Krishnankutty set to review the power situation and the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission scheduling a hearing on a KSEB plea concerning urgent power purchases.
Mr. Krishnankutty will convene a high-level meeting of the Power department officials on Monday evening. The KSEB is expected to submit a report on the options before the State to tide over the present power supply crisis. At the previous meeting on August 14, the KSEB had been issued directions in this regard.
Hearing on petition
The regulatory commission’s hearing on a petition filed by the KSEB for continuing an interim arrangement to procure power under ‘‘unapproved’‘ Design, Build, Finance, Own and Operate (DBFOO) mode contracts will begin at 11 a.m.
The weak southwest monsoon has forced the KSEB to tone down its internal hydropower generation to a minimum. In August, hydel generation crossed the 20 million unit (mu)-mark only on two days. This, at a time when daily power consumption has been averaging 82 mu in August.
A comparison
On an average, the State has been importing 64.7 mu per day, including supply from central generating stations and power purchases through the energy exchanges, to meet the demand.
To compare, the KSEB had been generating approximately 41 mu in August last year when the State received copious southwest monsoon rainfall. Power imports had averaged 27 mu.
