THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called a high-level meeting of KSEB and electricity department officials on Thursday to address the power crisis looming large in the state. The intervention has come at a time when power consumption has reached a record owing to severe heat conditions. Also, the board is facing a severe financial crunch after it was forced to buy power at Rs 16 - Rs 20 per unit during peak hours in the evening.
For the second consecutive day, the power consumption reached a record on Tuesday as well. If Monday recorded 100.1602 million units, Tuesday’s power consumption was 101.3872 which shows an upward trend. A senior official in the power department told TNIE that the maximum demand for power was 5004mw on Tuesday. “The KSEB requires Rs 1,472 crore to purchase power during March - May. Hence, steps should be taken to ensure arrears from Kerala Water Authority and other government entities,” said a senior official.