THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The summer rains had a cooling effect not just on the land but on the power consumption graph as well. April 25, Wednesday, registered the lowest daily consumption state-wide this summer, when for the first time in more than two months consumption fell below 50 million units (MU).
The KSEB met an energy demand of only 48.19 MU on Wednesday. The day’s consumption was the second lowest this year and the lowest on a week day, KSEB sources said. The consumption graph had dipped below the 50-MU mark on five other occasions since January. But those were all Sundays, considered as ‘lean’ days by the KSEB. The last occasion when the consumption stood below 50 MU was on February 12.
According to Met officials here, the summer showers are expected to last till the end of the week.
March was especially hot for the KSEB, with the consumption shooting up above 60 MU on 15 days. April has been comparatively lenient on the power utility, with the 60-MU mark being crossed only once so far.
Presenting the KSEB’s case for imposing power restrictions on LT consumers before the State Electricity Regulatory Commission on Wednesday, KSEB chief engineer (commercial and tariff) Gayatri Nair said that the KSEB had been expecting an average consumption of 59 MU during April but the loadshedding on the LT category and the power restrictions on HT/EHT consumers had helped trap it at 57.37 MU.