It is due to 40% less rainfall and blast at a power station

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Less than a month after its tryst with monsoon on May 31, Kerala is reeling under a severe power shortage. Electricity minister AK Balan on Thursday informed the state legislative assembly that the government had no other option but to impose 30-minute load shedding in the state.

The regulation will come into effect from Friday.

Contrary to the minister’s claim early this year that the state was comfortable on the energy front, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) had mooted load shedding for an hour daily. “Due to the failing monsoon and a cut in the central allocation, the government is compelled to impose 30-minute load shedding during peak hours,” Balan informed the legislative assembly, as per Rule 300.

He said the recent blast in the Moozhiyar Power House in Pathanamthitta had aggravated the situation. The state was poorer by 350 megawatt after the accident. Though the government had tried to make up for the shortage by buying electricity from other states, only 100 megawatt was available. Kerala, which requires 2,700 megawatt electricity a day, is short of 500 megawatt, the minister said.

The KSEB, which had demanded an hour of load shedding between 6.30pm and 10.30pm, has decided to impose load shedding from Friday itself. The minister insisted that the regulation was only a temporary arrangement and there would be no power cuts, provided the rain was prompt.

But weathermen don’t see any silver lining. Kerala, where the whole nation looks to ahead of the monsoons, has seen a 40% shortfall in rainfall as compared to average downpour during the south west monsoon. In some districts the deficiency was 60%, Met officials said. Most of the reservoirs record low water levels.

“South west monsoon was below expectation in its first lap. It was short by 40% in the first 25 days. There is no sign of the monsoon getting stronger. The monsoon is caused by depression in the Bay of Bengal but as of now there is no hope,” Met director MD Ramachandran said.

Kerala, which relies on hydel projects for 80% of its power needs, gets 85% of the water from the monsoon. In normal course, the state should have got an average of 225 mm of rainfall by now.

s_don@dnaindia.net