THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), the state-owned power distribution monopoly, yesterday imposed a 25 percent power cut on industries, in addition to the existing peak-time load shedding for half an hour across the board.
Power Minister A.K. Balan said the state was reeling under acute power crisis due to sharp fall in the rainfall and there was no option but to enforce these curbs. “The water storage level at our reservoirs has dropped and this has affected the capacity to generate power. The state would face a grave power crisis if the monsoon fails,” he said.
According to the data released by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the Idukki district where the major hydropower units are located received 43 percent less than normal rains from June 1 to July 23.
The industrial houses, that have been given the option of purchasing the remaining 25 percent at higher rates from the KSEB, want restrictions to be imposed across the board instead of singling them out.
The restriction is applicable to High Tension (HT) and Extra High Tension (EHT) consumers drawing energy from KSEB’s licensed power distributors such as the Technopark, Kinfra parks, Cochin Port Trust, Tata Tea in Munnar and various Special Economic Zones as well. Low Tension consumers served by the licensees are outside the restriction.
In its interim order, the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) said all HT and EHT consumers should restrict their power consumption to 75 percent of their average consumption during the period from April 1, 2007, to March 31, 2008. The quota would be fixed at this level for every such consumer on a monthly basis. The existing tariff would apply for the energy consumed within the quota. Any consumption above the quota would be charged at the actual cost at which the KSEB would buy power from expensive sources to make good the shortfall in power generation.
The rates from such sources now range between Rs.8 and Rs.12 per unit whereas the normal tariff for HT and EHT consumers is Rs.3.50 per unit. The KSEB would have to get the rates for the additional consumption approved by the KSERC before the fifth of each month, according to the order. The KSERC would review the power position in the state on Sept. 1, or earlier if required, to decide whether the restriction should be continued or relaxed.
“If the situation so demands, the KSERC might ask the KSEB to bring similar restriction for all categories of consumers after the review,” the order said.
Kerala’s major power consumers — all public sector units like the Technopark, Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Limited (FACT), Cochin Port Trust (CPT), Cochin Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) and Kerala Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA) — have sought waivers as “it would cripple production.”
