Increasing demand to push up Kerala's dependence on thermal power

G.K. Nair
Bussiness Line

Kochi, March 7

Ever-increasing demand for power without corresponding expansion in hydel power generation capacity in the State is gradually pushing up the state's dependence on thermal power with the ratio to touch 70:30 in the very near future, according senior sources in the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).

With the near-normal South-East monsoon last year, the reservoirs had their 10-year average storage of capacity.

Capacity in hyderl reservoirs

Currently, all the major hydel reservoirs have 63.7 per cent of storage of their capacity and with which 20 million units (mu) a day could be generated till May 31, a senior KSEB official told Business Line.

He said that some allowance has also been provided for any possible delay in the onset of next monsoon. The current daily power consumption is at around 53 mu as against around 40 mu at this time last year, he said.

“Not only the demand has increased during the peak hours but it has gone up also during the normal lean period”. No summer rains have been received in the catchment areas of the hydel projects so far this year and absence of summer showers would raise the power consumption in the coming days, he said.

The current requirement is met daily by drawing 20 mu from the central sector; 2.5 mu each from KSEB's diesel power generating units at Kozhikode and Brahmapuram near Kochi; four mu from NTPC's Kayamkulam plant and 4.5-5 mu from open market under agreed contracts.

Power landed cost

He said that power was available at a landed cost of around Rs 5 a unit but the problem often encountered was the availability of transmission corridor.

Power is available from private generators and from public sector power plants at competitive rates. The rates quoted by thermal plants within the state are in the range of Rs 6-7 a unit.

The Board is concentrating on purchasing the required additional power from the open market through competitive bids. Thus, already supply has been ensured for March and for April contracts action has been initiated, he said.

transmission lines

Meanwhile, “problems to commission transmission lines to evacuate power Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu and Kaiga in Karnataka are a major bottleneck”, he said.

In fact, there is an agreement in existence to evacuate power from the Kaiga project in Karnataka to northern Kerala. But the transmission line could not be completed because of objection by coffee planters who, surprisingly do not possess any title deeds, in the Coorg region, he said.

Consequently, the Mysore–Areekode (Kozhikode) transmission line could not be completed even though the power plant was commissioned in 2004.

Power Grid Corporation which is constructing the line is moving at a slow pace while the State Government is also not taking any serious efforts to solve this problem, the official alleged. This would have solved the power shortage problem in north Kerala. A similar situation is faced as far as evacuation of power from the Koodankulam thermal plant in Tamil Nadu. The construction of Kochi-Edamon transmission line could not be started due to opposition by rubber growers mainly in Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts, he said.

However, some progress has been made in the stretch in Ernakulam district, he said. Where as, the Tirunelveli–Edamon stretch has almost been completed, he said.

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According to him, there would be surplus power in the southern region by 2015-16 as the generating capacity, with the commissioning of new coal-based projects in Tuticurin coastal region in Tamil Nadu and in Andhra Pradesh, would be raised to 30,000 MW as against the potential demand of 20,000 MW.

KSEB is also contemplating setting up of a coal-based 2,400 MW power plant as a joint venture with the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) likely in northernKerala at an estimated cost of Rs 12,000 crore, he said.

“The project is, currently, in its conceptual stage”, he added.