These days when every day electricity utilization within the State is apt to the touch 100 million items (MU), it might be onerous to consider that only some a long time in the past, consumption ranges had stood effectively below the 20 MU-mark.
Electricity consumption charges have been within the information just lately after it touched 100 MU on two consecutive days – April 13 (100.30 MU) and April 14 (100.08 Mu) – a primary for Kerala.
State Assembly data present that 35 years in the past, the State wanted 18 MU for guaranteeing ‘‘uninterrupted supply.’‘ Ironically, those were also times when Kerala was battling power shortages, forcing the government to impose loadsheddings so that consumption could be reduced by 3 MU!
Past record
Assembly records dating back to the Eighth Kerala Assembly reveal that Kerala had around 27 lakh electricity consumers in the late 1980s. To compare, by 2023 the consumer strength of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has grown to 1.35 crore.
‘’We want 18 MU for uninterrupted provide. Consumption has been tied down at 15 MU with a three-hour daytime loadshedding, 40% powercut for industries and by directing business institutions to down shutters at 8 p.m.,’‘ then Electricity Minister T. Sivadasa Menon said in reply to a question in the Assembly in April 1988. Mr. Sivadasa Menon also stresses how vital energy conservation is, asserting that it is ‘‘equivalent to energy generation.’‘
By 2012, daily consumption levels had crossed the 60 MU-mark. The average consumption in June 2012 was 58.62 MU, with the monthly maximum pegged at 60.80 MU, according to a reply given by then Electricity Minister Aryadan Mohammed in the Assembly.
Records show that the annual energy demand in Kerala rose from 5,702 MU in 1984-85 to 8,682 MU in 1989-90. As per the latest budget estimates of the KSEB, the annual energy availability during 2023-24 has been estimated at 31,130.59 MU.
Driving the demand
Economic growth, consumer numbers and climate-related factors have contributed to the growth in electricity demand. ‘‘It’s not simply that the variety of customers have gone up, the rise of their buying energy is a vital issue. Many households immediately have a number of air-conditioners, as an example,’‘ points out Dhareshan Unnithan, former director of the Energy Management Centre (EMC), Kerala.
Government documents also illustrate how the share of internally-generated electricity in the total availability has decreased over the years. ‘‘The share of KSEB’s personal energy within the whole energy availability declined from 63% in 1996-97 to 49% in 1997-98,’‘ observes the Economic Review for 1998. Today, it’s right down to about 30%.
