Kochi, 13 September (H.S.): Kerala may be forced to impose an additional round of power restrictions if the State does not receive adequate rainfall and electricity consumption remains at the current high level.

At present, power supply is being regulated for 25 minutes in two phases. If the crisis worsens, a third round of restrictions could be introduced, taking the total daily outage duration to around one hour and 15 minutes.

Electricity consumption in the State touched 96.3 million units on Saturday, the highest ever recorded in September. Demand has reached levels usually witnessed during the peak summer month of April. Unless consumption declines, the Kerala State Electricity Board may have little choice but to tighten restrictions.

The KSEB had entered into an agreement to procure 200 MW of electricity from Madhya Pradesh. However, the agreement allowed supply only when the State had surplus power. Consequently, Kerala did not receive the contracted electricity during the past two days.

The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission's refusal to approve power purchase agreements at higher September prices has further aggravated the situation. The commission reportedly concluded that the proposed procurement would not substantially ease the shortage during evening peak hours.

Rising electricity demand across the country has also reduced Kerala's ability to secure power from other States. National peak-hour demand recently reached an all-time high of 267,000 MW, compared with 232,000 MW during the corresponding period last year.

According to Grid India data, Kerala, with a shortage of 639 MW, currently ranks second among States facing the most severe power deficit. Tamil Nadu occupies the first position.

Power consumption is expected to rise further across northern India during the upcoming Navratri and Deepavali celebrations. This could make inter-State power procurement more difficult by mid-October.

Kerala's daily consumption has increased from 89.4 million units in September last year to 96.3 million units now. Evening peak demand has also risen sharply to 5,045 MW from 4,443 MW a year ago.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman