THIRUVANANTAPURAM: KSEB Limited refused to panic when daily power consumption set new records this summer. Instead of launching a high-profile conservation drive, like it had done five years ago during the LDF era, it looked like the public utility was encouraging consumption.
If there was no conservation measures to speak of during the worst summer in over a decade, elections did have a role to play. It was after the elections were notified on March 4 that the summer turned nasty. “Elections of course held us from going aggressively forward with even our limited conservation campaign,” said KSEBL chairman and managing director M Sivasankar. “Our LED distribution, for instance, was done in a low-key manner,” he added.
As a result, KSEBL could distribute only 60 lakh LEDs in the place of 150 lakh that was targeted. But then it is not as if KSEBL’s conservation strategy was frustrated by the elections. Conservation, for a change, is not a priority.
“Earlier, when we had launched conservation campaigns using film actors it was because power was scarce. Now, thanks to our purchase strategies, we have power in abundance,” Sivasankar said. This summer, the consumption pattern dramatically altered - people invested heavily in ACs and air coolers - and KSEBL in Sivasankar’s words “was game”. “We have ensured that supply always matched the demand,” the CMD said.
When enough cost-effective power is available, both from within and outside the state, Sivasankar argued that it was even illogical to ask people to conserve. It’s classic neo-liberal thinking: crank up consumption and expand the economy.
The days of belt-tightening have long gone. The state is no more power-starved. Now, KSEBL’s power purchase cost is lower than its sales revenue.
“We have managed this summer without having to resort to power from NTPC Kayamkulam, a first for us,” Sivasankar said. Kayamkulam power costs Rs 12-13 per unit. KSEBL, through some meticulous forward planning, has contracted enough cheap power to see the state through perhaps the worst of summers for many more years.
