Kerala remains dependent on power imports, spends Rs 10k crore annually
This growing dependence comes at a time when Kerala has 61 dams and 42 hydroelectric stations, highlighting a stark mismatch between potential and actual generation. According to the report, KSEB's internal generation amounted to only 5,652 million units (MU), mostly from hydroelectric sources, while the state's total consumption crossed 27,696 MU during the year.
Of this, 11,434.41 MU were sourced from Central Generating Stations (CGS). In addition, KSEB purchased 2,625.92 MU from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) through bilateral agreements. To meet sudden peak demands, 1,236.37 MU were procured through traders, while 5,531 MU were purchased from power exchanges.
An official at KSEB pointed out that surging peak-time demand has made dependence on outside sources unavoidable. 'In March 2024, Kerala's electricity demand touched 5,301 MW, exposing the limitations of our domestic generation capacity,' the official said.
Adding to the concern is the negligible generation from renewable sources. The report states that solar and wind stations owned by KSEB generated only 3.79 MU and 1.21 MU respectively during the year. Although Kerala has crossed 1 GW of cumulative solar capacity, only 224.08 MW (22.2%) is owned by KSEB itself.
'Kerala is one of the states where demand for electricity peaks during nighttime. The fact is that we could not generate the electricity as per our demand, and that forced us to import from other states. We cannot depend on solar projects as their generation capacity is limited.
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