No rise in power use despite lifting curbs

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Contrary to expectations, power consumption had not shown a startling surge after the withdrawal of the 45-minute load-shedding in the state. Even after the curbs were lifted, daily consumption continues to hover between 59 and 60 million units, the levels witnessed during days when curbs were in place.

“Consumption that touches 60 MU daily is huge and unsustainable but the level was touched even with the curbs were in place. In that sense, this is surprising,” a top KSEB Ltd official said. “The assessment was that it might even shoot up considering that the World Cup football matches were on,” the source added.

In fact, power consumption showed a marginal increase on June 27, the day the load-shedding was withdrawn. It rose to 63.29 MU on the day. On June 28, it inched even higher at 63.95 MU. But from June 29, consumption fell, settling below the 59-60 MU mark. When the power curbs were on, there were a number of days when daily consumption scaled 60 MU.

However, the high consumption is a matter of concern for KSEB Ltd. It means that the company has to purchase high-cost power from NTPC’s Kayamkulam plant. It now schedules 3.60 MU from Kayamkulam at a whopping Rs 12.40 per unit. A weak monsoon is also triggering high consumption. The water level in reservoirs, too, is giving planners sleepless nights. As on July 1, Idukki reservoir has water only to generate 384 MU. Last year same time, it has enough water to generate nearly 900 MU.