Even though the electricity requirement of the state is estimated to be about 6,000 Mega Watt (MW) by 2021, the state is still groping in the dark to meet the target.
According to the estimates released by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), the electricity requirement is expected to be 4,574 MW by the year 2016-17 and will rise in the years to come.
Unfortunately, the total power production in the state is currently only 2,300 MW, in comparison to the actual requirement of 3,400 MW, sending the state into a pallor of doom.
With the Madhav Gadgil Commission report recommending all the dams that have completed 50 years to be decommissioned and the bleak possibility of starting new hydro electric projects in the state, the state is on a collision course as the search for alternate power sources have reached nowhere either.
The proposed 1,050 MW power from the LNG terminal and the additional power production of 1,950 MW using the LNG from the Puthuvype terminal at the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) at Kayamkulam is crucial in meeting the huge requirements in the coming years. But owing to many hurdles, ranging from strikes to environmental issues, the commissioning of the LNG terminal is getting delayed.
“The power consumption in the state has increased by 12 per cent this year. However, the production has not. We are expecting the consumption to go up by 15 per cent this financial year. Taking account of these factors, the state is in for a definite power crisis,” said C V Nandan, Chief Engineer (Transmission) System Operation, KSEB.
The average daily power consumption in the state is 5.56 crore units. Currently the state is producing only 40 per cent of its requirements, the rest is bought at a high cost from the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) plant at Kayamkulam. Last year power worth `5500 crore was bought from NTPC.
“It is high time that government sped up the processes to get the LNG terminal fully functional. We have lost about 85 days due to various reasons. When the LNG terminal becomes fully operational, the cost of power will be come down to `7,” said a Petronet LNG Ltd official.
Meanwhile, sources cite that the terminal is expected to be commissioned before December this year.
The state government is also planning to moot other projects to address the huge power requirements. The major ones are to generate 1,000 MW tapping wind energy, from 17 potential locations, and to set up a 1,000 MW thermal power plant in Odisha as a joint venture, using the coal from Baitarani coal block in Odisha.
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