The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is grappling with a surge in power demand as a heatwave sweeps across the state, pushing the mercury past 40 degrees Celsius. This intense heat has led to an increase in transformer failures, frequent outages, and voltage fluctuations. In the last two-and-a-half months, 578 transformers have failed due to overheating and excessive load, causing disruptions in power supply.

The unseasonal heatwave, which began in early February, has driven up power consumption significantly. In February, 116 transformers tripped, a number that increased to 207 in March. By April 18, KSEB had replaced 255 transformers in response to the demand. Kerala Electrical & Allied Engineering Co Ltd (KEL) was initially contracted to supply transformers to KSEB, but delays forced the board to purchase from a Hyderabad-based firm.

The rise in power overload has led to overheating of transformer oil, causing contacts and windings to melt and transformers to trip. This requires KSEB to replace the faulty transformers, a time-consuming process. Consumers facing outages during peak hours have expressed their frustration, often protesting at KSEB offices, which are sparsely staffed during night hours.

The KSEB has been urging consumers to avoid charging electric vehicles during peak hours to alleviate the strain on the grid. The increase in use of air conditioners and electric vehicles has contributed to higher power consumption during night hours. On Friday, power consumption reached 108.51 million units with peak-hour demand at 5,478 MW, just short of the record 5,529 MW set on Wednesday.

To manage the crisis, the KSEB has received an additional 180MW of power from the national grid allocated by the Centre for two months from April 15. This, along with daily power purchases from the real-time market, has helped the board keep up with the rising demand and avoid a major power crisis.

Source: newindianexpress.com