THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After taking considerable flak over dam management during the mid-August floods, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is gearing up to tackle another crisis, but on a more familiar terrain.
The usual summer-time unease regarding power shortage is expected to worsen during 2019 summer on account of the Parliament elections, as the democratic exercise is expected to trigger a huge spurt in demand. To fill gaps, the director board of the KSEB has given the nod for additional purchase of 150 MW on a daily basis to cover a period of three-and-a-half months.
As per a decision taken earlier this month, the KSEB will soon float bids for procuring 150 MW on a daily basis from February 16, 2019, through May 31 through the DEEP (Discovery of Efficient Electricity Price) e-bidding portal of the Central Government. “We require the electricity to meet the additional demand during the peak evening hours (7 pm to 11 pm),” KSEB chairman and managing director N S Pillai said.
Furthermore, the fact that the north-east monsoon is yet to benefit the KSEB reservoirs too had prompted the government power utility to launch the trouble-shooting measures as early as October 2017. The north-east monsoon accounts for 30 per cent of the rainfall received by the state annually. During the summer months, daily power demand in the state rises by 15 to 20 million units and the additional demand is met through power purchase from outside the state.
On the brighter side, combined storage in the hydel dams still hovers around the 80 per cent mark despite the simultaneous discharge of water from the dams in August. At present, the hydel dams have enough storage to generate 3,346 million units (MU) which is the highest in the past four years.