Kerala electricity crisis: Himachal Pradesh signs deal with KSEB, offers temporary relief

The Congress-led government in Himachal Pradesh has come to the rescue of its counterpart in Kerala, which has been facing a major electricity crisis since it assumed power in May this year. 

Following negotiations with officials of Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), the Himachal Pradesh government has agreed to provide Kerala 600–900 MW of electricity from October 1 onwards. This is expected to be sufficient to meet the peak demand of the state.

A deficient monsoon coupled with a high power consumption had disrupted KSEB’s power distribution from June to September.

A senior officer of KSEB said that the purchase from Himachal Pradesh was enough to avoid the existing power curbs. 

In addition to the agreement with Himachal, KSEB has also managed to secure certain short term deals of around 450-500 MW. It is currently unclear whether KSEB will continue purchasing from Himachal Pradesh, though it is seeking an agreement to extend the arrangement for the next few months. 

KSEB is also relieved that the electricity it had to return as part of ‘swap’ agreement with other states ended by September 30. Under ‘swap’ deals, KSEB was expected to return during monsoon season the power it had purchased from other states at the time of peak summer. This monsoon season ended with a 28% deficiency on September 30.

The increased domestic consumption caused by various factors, including high penetration of electric vehicles and increased use of air conditioners due to poor rainfall, aggravated the crisis. The state's hydroelectric power generation was around 19.23 MU as the storage in dams plummeted to 61.29%. The dams were 78.92% full during this time last year. 

Though the state government had promised to end the power crisis by mid-September, it continued till the end of the month. On September 30, the state recorded a peak demand of 5,459 MW. Despite purchasing power from BSES Yamuna Power Limited, Delhi (50-60 MW), Uttar Pradesh (100 MW), and Haryana (100 MW), the state recorded a shortage of 900 MW, forcing the KSEB to implement night-time power restrictions on Wednesday, September 30. 

The power crisis has even caused a rift within the ruling United Democratic Front with its convenor Adoor Prakash on Thursday, October 1 admitting that it caused dissatisfaction among the people towards the government. The UDF also faced a setback in the recent local body by-elections.