THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Summer has not even arrived. But the state has already begun importing 90 percent of its daily electricity demand. Reason: The abysmal water storage levels in hydel dams. Imports accounted for 91.3 per cent of the consumption on Sunday and 89.7 percent on Monday.
The total internal generation on Monday - hydropower and thermal included - stood at a dismal 6.6 million units (MU) while the total consumption was 64.46 MU. Consumption levels are expected to shoot up to 85 MU during the summer.
Normal daily power import rate in non-summer months hovers around the 70 percent mark. After the state was declared drought-hit in October, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) was instructed to conserve water in its dams.
Water storage in hydel reservoirs is the lowest since 2013. With the current storage, all the dams combined can generate only 1814.55 MU as on Monday. In percentage terms, they are only 44 percent full to capacity. On the same day in 2015, the dams had enough water to produce 3030.96 MU and in 2014, 3646.08 MU.
The reservoir of the 780 MW Idukki power project, the state’s biggest, is only 36 percent full. With the emphasis being laid on water conservation, Idukki produced just 1.8 MU on Monday. The average daily generation at 340 MW Sabarigiri, the second biggest, has been reduced to 1.3 MU.
While the KSEB has power purchase deals in place for the summer, non-availability of inter-state transmission lines is expected to prove a major headache. The power utility had discontinued purchases from the liquid fuel stations, NTPC unit at Kayamkulam due to demand for a higher fixed charge. However, KSEB had informed the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission that power purchases from these units may become imperative to cross the summer without power restrictions.