District to receive a power boost

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The district will soon have a power boost with the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) getting ready to complete the 220 KV transmission lines to Brahmapuram and Kalamassery by September and thereby, help it tap more from the central grid. The major beneficiary will be the industrial hub of Kalamassery and surrounding areas.

The last hurdle for drawing the line was the objection on the part of SmartCity and this was solved the other day.

“Tower construction for the 220 KV line on SmartCity land will begin this week itself, and we will be in a position to tap the full central quota of power by September,” a top KSEB official said.

The Madakkathara-Pallikara 440 KV line had been completed long ago but the KSEB was not able to tap it for Kochi and surrounding areas due to non-completion of the 220 KV transmission lines.

The new lines, two circuits each to Brahmapuram and Kalamassery, will also help the state to tap power from the Koodankulam nuclear plant once it is made available.
The transmission

capacity of the state hitherto was 38 million units (MU) a day whereas consumption crossed 60 MU last summer.

As per KSEB data, 16% of the state’s total power requirement comes from Ernakulam district alone, which is the highest, compared to demands from other districts.

“The current peak demand in the district is about 550 MW. This is going to shoot up, considering that Kochi Metro alone will have a demand of 30 MW and SmartCity 60 MW,” the official said.

To tap the central quota fully will also help the KSEB reduce its dependence on costly thermal power from the NTPC and BSES. “Till now, even if cheaper power was available outside the state, we were not able to use it fully due to transmission constraints,” she said.