Kerala: Power cuts, tariff hike in 2017

Thiruvananthapuram: Both the monsoons have failed the state like never before in 2016. Storage levels dropped to alarming levels in reservoirs. In Idukki it is down to 38 per cent.

Power consumption showed no sign of abating as it hovered around 65 million units daily even in a cold December.

KSEB Limited, unable to overwork its fast-depleting reservoirs, has no choice, but to buy power from the market, pushing up purchase costs. Transmission constraints persist, impeding purchases.

All that was unfortunate in 2016 has started to feed on each other to make one thing inevitable in 2017: a tariff hike after two years.

The Electricity Regulatory Commission has already begun its tariff revision sittings in various parts of the state. It has already proposed a new tariff rate that will fetch KSEBL additional revenue of Rs 225 crore. Only BPL consumers with monthly consumption of up to 40 million units will be spared.

The proposed hike of 3.6 to 8.7 per cent is not as steep as 15-70 per cent hike in 2014. KSEBL has not officially put forward its proposal. But top officials say that the company concurs with the estimate of the ERC.

Power curbs, too, could be expected during the first few months of the New Year. “If the corridor congestion is not eased, KSEBL will be forced to clamp restrictions on power use,” a top official said.

As it stands, the Power Grid Corporation of India has granted corridor access to KSEBL for all its medium- and long-term power purchase agreements. But the state has not been granted transmission lines to meet urgent short-term requirements. The biggest congestion is at the interface between the NEW (north-east-west) grid and the southern grid. "This tangle has to be eased for the state to get its short-term requirements. However, the PGCIO has still not taken a decision," the official said.