Thiruvananthapuram: Electricity consumption touched a record level in Kerala on April 17, at 10.035 crore units. The previous record was 10.0302 crore units on April 13 this year.

The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) said this was the third day this month that the consumption has crossed the 100 million units mark, a first in the history of the state.

"Last year, the highest consumption was around 96 million units on April 28. That mark was crossed in the last week itself," a KSEB official said.

KSEB, however, said that even though the state was witnessing record consumption, the situation was manageable as electricity was available from the power exchange at affordable rate.

The official also said the water level in dams under it has dropped drastically and reached the lowest level recorded in the last six years. "The water level in dams have come down to 38 per cent of the storage capacity," the official said.

Kerala is currently utilizing around eight million additional units of power every day, compared to April last year.

Heatwave

According to officials, the heatwave-like conditions existing in the state have led to the higher consumption of power.

 Kerala has been experiencing searing heat for the past few days with Palakkad district recording the highest maximum temperature of 39.7 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.

The temperature was above normal in Alappuzha, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Kollam and Thrissur districts of the state, the weatherman said.

Staying indoors has become unbearable in several districts across the state as the relative humidity has increased, as per the IMD website.

The electricity board has urged the people to reduce consumption of power during the peak hours.