Kerala govt mulling power cuts for want of water

With southwest monsoon yet to gain momentum in Kerala, the state government is mulling power curbs within 10 days due to shortage of water in the reservoirs to produce hydroelectricity.

This comes a day after the Electricity Regulatory Committee (ERC) had recommended a tariff hike for domestic and industrial consumers by an overall 6.8 per cent.

Power Minister M M Mani Tuesday said load-shedding was likely to be imposed within 10 days.

"We will have to impose power curbs in the state within 10-15 days in case there is no change in the weather. There is shortage of water in the reservoirs. The Electricity Board had made it clear," Mani told reporters.

Also, he said the government was trying to pool electricity from outside the state.

Meanwhile, the ERC had asked the Electricity Board to collect the pending dues of around Rs 2,000 crore from various consumers, including the government departments.

Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) had on July 4 held a review meeting to take stock of the situation due to deficient rains and the water-level in dams decreasing but decided not to curb power till July 15.

The monsoon, which had set in a week late on June 8, had not strengthened in Kerala so far, resulting in the dipping of water-level in dams.

The monsoon is expected to strengthen by July 15, according to weathermen.

As per the details from the State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC), which is the apex body to ensure integrated operation of the power system in the State, the Idukki Dam has only 13 per cent of water to produce electricity.

"As per today's assessment, there is 13 per cent of water in the dam which will last only for next 20 days with the current rate of consumption. However, a few days ago, the water was just 11 per cent. But it was increased due to rain in the catchment area," a top KSEB official told PTI.

Idukki dam is one of the highest arch dams in Asia, owned by the KSEB which supports a 780 MW hydroelectric power station in Moolamattom.

The state produces 65 per cent of its power from the hydroelectric project in Idukki.