KOCHI: With Kerala experiencing an exceptionally intense summer, power consumption has been surging at an alarming rate, giving sleepless nights to the KSEB.
The state’s daily power consumption set a new record on Friday as the demand climbed to 116.11 million units (MU). The peak load also set a new record of 6,013 MW on the same evening. Grappling to manage the crisis the KSEB is exploring possibilities of short-term power procurement.
Meanwhile, consumers in rural areas across the state complain the KSEB has imposed unscheduled nighttime power cuts.
Dismissing the complaints, KSEB top officials said there is no power cut or load shedding in the state. But the board admits that it is imposed some load restrictions to handle transmission system constraints.
While the KSEB receives 2,000MW power from rooftop solar units during day time, the board is grappling to get additional power to meet the surging demand particularly during peak hours.
Normally the state experiences maximum power demand from 6.30pm to 10.30pm, which is called the peak hour. But in recent years, the peak hour has been extending to 2am during summer season. The KSEB blames the extensive use of air conditioners for this spike in demand.
Explaining the crisis, an official said around 3.61 lakh people have installed rooftop solar systems linked to the grid in the state.
The board has to purchase the power generated by these rooftop units during day time at the rate approved by the Regulatory Commission.
These consumers draw additional power from the gird during night time when the demand is maximum. For example, the power consumption during day time is 4,500 MW while demand is 6,000 MW at time.
According to the board, the maximum power available during peak hour is 6,255 MW, which includes 4,455 MW from the central grid and power-purchase agreements and 1,800 MW received through internal generation.
There is a decrease of 100 MW due to shutdown of some generation units. The board says it can manage the situation even if peak-hour demand rises to 6,200 MW.
New record in daily power consumption
April 17, 2026: 116.11 million units
Previous record May 3, 2024: 115.94 million units
Peak hour demand record
April 17, 2026: 6,013 MW
Previous record April 14, 2026: 6,012 MW