THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In spite of the heavy rainfall in recent weeks, the power situation in the state continues to be grim, Electricity Minister Aryadan Mohammed said here on Tuesday. ‘’Last year this time the hydel reservoirs were 92 per cent full.
This year it’s just 62 per cent. We are on the brink of imposing loadshedding, but are trying to avoid it with power purchases,’’ the Minister said, inaugurating the distribution of ‘Solar Lanterns’ of the Agency for Non-Conventional Energy and Rural Technology (ANERT).
According to him, the daily power demand in the state was to the tune of 3700 MW. Of this, hydropower generated within the state accounted for between 1600-1700 MW while the state’s share from the central generation stations accounted for another 1100 MW. The rest had to be met through power purchases, he said.
“By 2017, our average demand would touch 4670 MW and by 2020-21, according to the Central Electricity Authority,6100 MW,’’ Aryadan Mohammed said. Emphasising the importance of tapping non-conventional sources, he said that the government was awaiting administrative sanction from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) for implementing a 2 KW-3 KW rooftop solar power scheme. MNRE director and nodal officer for Kerala G R Singh, ANERT technical director P Valsaraj, district engineer A Sajeeb and technical officer J Manoharan were present.
Solar lantern Scheme
T’Puram: ANERT plans to sell 33,000 solar lanterns across the state. The lanterns consist of a 7 watt CFL, a 12 V, 7 Ah SMF battery and a 10 W polycrystalline solar module. A single lantern is priced at Rs 2270, but the consumer need pay only Rs 1520 as there is a Rs 750 subsidy on offer from the Power Department, Kerala. Batteries fully charged, they can burn for three to four hours, ANERT officials said.
Each lantern, including the CFL, has a warranty period of five years. The battery has a 2-yr warranty and the solar module, 10 years. 500 lanterns are ready for distribution, on first-come, first-served basis at the district offices of ANERT.