Bountiful rains fail to ease power crisis

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Generous summer showers have not softened the severity of the state’s power situation. Daily shortage, even with power restrictions, touched an alarming 522 MW on May 6.

Ironically, it had touched the ‘red-blinking’ mark of 500 MW on April 29, the day the most sustained summer showers lashed various parts of the state, including the catchment areas of the Idukki dam. Ever since, the shortage has been swelling.

The sudden surge in power shortage is putting immense strain on the weak finances of KSEB. “Power from comparatively cheaper sources is sufficient to meet only up to 90 per cent of the projected demand,” a top KSEB source said.

After considering the availability from comparatively cheaper sources like hydel, central generating stations, traders and wind, the board has arrived at a shortage of 2078 MU or 10.38 per cent of the total projected demand of 20019 MW.

If the deficit is met from liquid fuel stations like Brahmapuram Diesel Power Plant, Kozhikode Diesel Power Plant and Rajiv Gandhi Combined Cycle Power Project Cycle, the average energy cost will be between Rs 10.22 and Rs 10.77 per unit.

If this is the case, the additional liability will work out to Rs 2,155.2 crore or 30 per cent of the board’s annual revenue. Already KSEB's finances are in bad shape.

The average tariff for consumers is Rs 1.96 per unit as against the average cost of supply of Rs 5.66 per unit.

Increasing shortage will force KSEB, in order to avoid liquid fuel stations, to depend more on costly thermal power. Since the 1990s, the power mix has altered alarmingly in favour of thermal power.

At present more than 64 per cent of the power requirement of the state is met from thermal sources. In 1981-82, the contribution of thermal to the state’s power requirement was one per cent.

And there is an increase in the cost of production in all thermal stations as coal has become dearer.
In 2006-07, the cost of thermal power purchase at Rs 2.08 per unit was Rs 1741.14 crore. By 2012-13, it has shot up by over 110 per cent, to Rs 5659.19 crore at Rs 4.40 per unit.