Kerala's daily power consumption crosses historic 100 million units as mercury soars

The soaring temperature in Kerala has had a significant impact as daily power consumption in the state crossed a historic 100 million units (MU).

The power consumption on 13-4-2023 was 100.30 MU. "It is the first time in history that daily consumption has crossed the 100 million units mark," said Kerala's Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty.

Likewise, the power demand also hit a record 4903 megawatts (MW) on April 13.

Meanwhile, according to the Meteorological Centre at Thiruvananthapuram, at least two districts in Kerala recorded the highest temperature of 40 degrees Celsius.

Palakkad recorded the highest of 40.1 deg C while Thrissur also logged 40. The average temperature in the state was close to 37.

Demand exceeded expectations
Minister Krishnankutty said the power demand has exceeded the projections and that the state might be forced to buy power at high rates.

"The power demand has exceeded the state's expectations of 4700MW and 4600MW for April and May respectively.

"Kerala has witnessed a 12% hike in power demand from last year and consumption has also increased by 8% compared to 2022," the minister said.

Restrict consumption during peak hours
The power minister has urged the consumer to restrict power consumption during peak hours (6 pm-11 pm). "We have overcome the crisis by not using equipment such as iron boxes, water pump sets, washing machine and induction stove between 6 pm and 11 pm. Let us use power carefully," the minister said.