Thiruvananthapuram, 07 August (H.S.): The recent spell of intense rainfall across Kerala has brought some relief to the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), with increased inflows pushing up water levels in its hydropower reservoirs despite widespread rain-related damage.

The Board, however, does not plan to significantly increase hydropower generation immediately. Instead, it intends to conserve water in major reservoirs for the summer months, when rainfall is expected to decline and electricity demand could rise.

KSEB had expected inflows equivalent to around 282 million units of electricity during the first five days of August. However, the reservoirs received water sufficient to generate nearly 640 million units, substantially exceeding projections.

As of Wednesday, reservoirs under the Board held about 48 per cent of their total storage capacity. The available water was sufficient to generate 1,987.78 million units of electricity, compared with 3,154 million units on the corresponding day last year. Although storage remains well below last year's level, inflows have improved considerably over the previous week.

The rains have also brought down electricity consumption. Daily demand, which stood at around 90 million units a week earlier, declined to 82.14 million units on Wednesday.

KSEB's dependence on electricity purchased from outside Kerala has consequently eased. Average daily purchases during the first week of August stood at 57.53 million units, down from 68.76 million units in July.

With smaller reservoirs filling up, the Board has increased hydropower generation to an average of 20.17 million units a day from 15.25 million units last month.

However, KSEB is avoiding higher generation from major reservoirs, where storage remains around half of capacity. With relatively drier months ahead and catchment areas yet to receive exceptionally heavy rainfall, the Board plans to conserve water while purchasing electricity from outside the State whenever it is available at competitive rates.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman