THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Power Minister K Krishnankutty has said that despite the power crisis looming large in the state, power cuts and load shedding will not be implemented until October 19.
After a meeting with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at the Legislative Assembly Complex to take stock of the power crisis, Krishnankutty told reporters that the board has decided to procure 300 megawatts of power from outside at an exorbitant rate of Rs 2 crore per day.
Due to the paucity of coal in North India, the state has been feeling the heat. On Sunday, Krishnankutty had urged the public to use power with care especially during peak hours -- 6 pm to 11 pm. On Monday, Pinarayi had held talks with Krishnankutty, power secretary B Ashok who is also holding the post of Kerala State Electricity Board chairman and other top board officials. It has been decided to hold a follow-up meeting on October 19.
It is reliably learnt that the state government is not keen to go for load shedding or power cuts at a time when students are engaged in online learning. This led the authorities to procure the deficit 300 megawatts of power from outside.
"The state government will help to meet the exorbitant rates. But if the deficit power goes up by 400 megawatts then things would go haywire. Currently, the state is getting 1800-1900 megawatts of power from the central pool when the requirement is 3800 megawatts," said Krishnankutty.
He also added that there has been a 300-400 megawatt power deficit ever since the coal crisis in North India.