ENERGY SCENARIO IN KERALA

The recent announcement of the electricity minister of Kerala that power cut/regulation will be imposed in the coming days might have induced many to delve into the energy scenario of the state. While Kerala is one of the six Indian states along with TN, AP, Punjab, Goa and Gujarat where every household has access to electricity, the scenario is not so coveted now. We all know that energy has a pivotal role to play in the socio-economic development and human welfare of a country. Economic growth of a country is very much depend upon an efficient and sustainable supply of energy. Uninterrupted supply of power significantly contribute for industrial development, employment generation, export of goods and services, trading activities and the much needed revenue generation of the state. If the state can pump in more money for power generation  the state can become financially stable. However the successive governments have not given adequate attention  to meet the demand and supply of power in the state.

Let us get into the fact and figure of energy in the state. The average consumption of electricity is about 64 million units per day. During the peak of summer it may reach over 80 mu a day.  Around 57 million units are imported by the state now. Out of this 29 mu is received as central share and the remaining is brought through long, medium and short term power purchases. From the preserved water we can expect an average generation of 14 mu. With the available transmission network the import can be increased to 60 mu. With this the shortage will become quite meagre. If we can afford Rs 8/- per unit 7 mu can be drawn from NTPC Kayamkulam. In this way we may be able to get over the situation without lifting the warning flag too many times.

Hydel, thermal, wind and solar are the existing sources of power in Kerala. As on March 2017 Kerala has an installed capacity of 2961.11 MW. This includes hydel 2107.96 MW, thermal 718.46 MW,  wind 59.27 MW and solar 75.42 MW. From all sources put together the state has added it's capacity by 55.03 MW in 2016-17. According to the Central Electricity Authority the consumption of  29,924 million units in 2017-18 shall go up to 38,756 million units in 2026-27. It is also a matter of concern that KSEB is said to be suffering a loss of Rs 9,000 crores. The Kayamkulam plant by NTPC has an installed capacity of 359.58 MW. The first phase of the 115 MW gas turbine project at Kayamkulam has already been commissioned. The Kochi plant has an installed capacity of 157 MW and the Kasaragod plant has 21.4 MW. The Brahmapuram and Kozhikode Diesel Power Plants have an installed capacity of 106.6 MW and 128 MW respectively. The government should ensure optimum utilization of these plants.

With the introduction of the electricity powered automobiles the power requirements shall have a quantum leap in the coming years. If we can do a balancing act this could be efficiently met with. When the electricity driven vehicles are increased there will be a proportionate decrease of fuel driven vehicles. This will cause a considerable drop in import bill of crude  and that sum can be used for the additional generation of power through different sources. Transmission and distribution network should also be strengthened and expanded.

Another very important aspect need to be looked into is that the state is generating over 7,000 MT of waste a day. Around 60 to 70 per cent of these could be combustible waste and can be used for new thermal plants. Further to this we must also dig into more and more area for non-conventional energy sources. This writer can suggest a few if there are takers.

KV George