THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The KSEB is keeping its fingers crossed in the run-up to the southwest monsoon. While the power utility safely negotiated the summer which was not as intense as feared, a poor monsoon could nevertheless disrupt its calculations, plunging the state into a crisis.
On the bright side, the Met Department has forecast a normal monsoon for 2018 which will replenish the hydel reservoirs. At present, there is enough water in all the hydel reservoirs combined to generate 1,122.30 million units (MU), almost double the power generation capability the KSEB possessed during the same period last year. Nonetheless, the storage level is only 27 per cent of full capacity, underscoring the need for a strong monsoon season.
Although KSEB had expected daily power consumption levels to touch an unprecedented 82 MU this summer, the intermittent cool weather and summer showers arrested consumption levels within 80 MU mark. The average consumption in May stands at 71.2 MU.
The KSEB is also gearing up for annual maintenance of generators at the Idukki power project starting June, N Venugopal, KSEB director (Corporate Planning, Generation-Electrical), said.