T’puram: Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) has approved KSEB’s request to purchase power at an exceptionally-high rate in the near term to tide over the power deficit caused by poor monsoon and a subsequent spike in demand. The cost of this purchase is Rs 282.5 crore for 308.43 million units of energy and the average cost is Rs 9.16/unit. Earlier, KSERC had sanctioned only Rs 4.64/unit for power purchase in 2026-27.“The huge quantum of power purchase at excessive rates will affect KSEB’s finances and ultimately end up with liquidity problems unless such cost is passed onto consumers through tariffs. Hence, KSEB shall place such power purchase at excessive rate before the next director board meeting and explore strategies to minimize the impact on retail tariff,” said KSERC. KSEB had sought permission for short-term power purchase from June 15 to Dec 31, excluding the month of September.KSERC criticized KSEB over the delay in BESS projects and directed it to ensure that consumers are informed about load shedding an hour in advance.“There is huge criticism against KSEB over unscheduled load shedding without advance intimation to consumers. If there is genuine shortage in availability of power during peak hours even after taking all possible steps to meet the demand at reasonable cost, KSEB may impose minimum load shedding on cyclic basis to ensure system stability but only after informing consumers through SMS, print and visual media, social platforms and other appropriate means one hour before implementation. KSEB must have a clear protocol and implementation plan, including information dissemination for imposing cyclic load shedding during emergencies,” said KSERC in its latest order.KSEB had informed KSERC that it was struggling to meet power demand due to monsoon failure and its commitment to return the power it had borrowed from other states during March and April from June 16. It said the water level in reservoirs was only one third of last year’s storage during last June.
