The Hindu Business Line : Power situation comfortable in Kerala

No power trouble
With water available at present, 1,989 MU of power can be generated.
Inflow from Southwest, Northeast monsoon is expected to be adequate.
Any shortfall can be met by drawing more power from Central generating stations.

Kochi , Aug. 1

Even though there is a decline in the water storage levels in hydroelectric reservoirs in the State, compared to last year, the power situation in the State appears to be comfortable this year also.

The total water storage as on Tuesday is 48 per cent of the capacity of the reservoirs as against 51 per cent last year on this day. With the water available at present, 1,989 million units (MU) of power can be generated compared to 2,100 MU on Aug 01, 2005.

Unlike last year, the monsoon this year has been intermittent and as a result there has not been any spillover. Whereas last year, it was full and incessant and many small reservoirs such as Kuttiyadi, Peingakuthu, Neriamangalam had spillover. This year such a situation has not emerged so far, and as a result "we could conserve the water effectively", Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) sources told Business Line.

They said that the total inflow this year from Southwest and Northeast monsoon is expected to be adequate to generate 6,000 to 6,300 MU, which is the 10-year average, as against around 8,000 MU last year.

The current daily demand of power is 36.5 MU and to meet this 18 MU are generated from the hydel units while 20 MU are drawn from the central grid. On an average, 2.8 to 3 MU during the off-peak hours is sold to Punjab and Haryana, the sources said.

Given this favourable situation, the KSEB would be able to meet the power requirement without drawing it from the thermal stations of NTPC at Kayamkulam and BSES near here, they said.

The load pattern of Kerala power system is such that the maximum load on the system occurs during evening between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m., which comes to around 2,350 MW during acute summer. The minimum load is during late night hours between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., which comes to around 1,000 MW during summer. The base load of Kerala Power System is around 1,000 MW.

The Central share of Kerala isbetween 750 MW and 800 MW, which is available round-the-clock. The base load of 1,000 MW, as well as day-time additional load of around 350 MW, can be met with the minimum hydel generation that is to be put on grid and with the support of the board's own small thermal stations whenever there is a shortage, sources said.

Any short fall in the supply could be met by drawing additional power from the Central Generating Stations. The pooled cost of the power from the grid, including fixed cost might come to around Rs 2 a unit.