From March to May next year, it is almost certain that Keralam will stumble upon a severe power shortage unless the state govt takes immediate steps anticipating the crisis
“In Sept 2025, our demand was around 4,000 MW. Of the total 5,51,994MW power generated in India as on July 31 this year, 1,64,595MW is solar energy. “The total renewable energy produced in the country is more than 2 lakh MW. Of this, private generators produce around 60%. “KSEB should prepare a resource adequacy plan with a clear vision on the next 10 years’ demand and supply. There should be a meticulous plan for 8,765 hours in a year. The total capacity of solar power plants across Keralam is around 4,500MW. KSEB has designed projects to set up a battery energy storage system (BESS) to the tune of 1,900MW. “We have the potential to increase the solar energy capacity to 3,600MW-4,000MW. “Around 64% of solar power generated during daytime is excess. Energy can be available as cheaply as Re 1 per unit from other states during daytime. The gestation period (the time for setting up a facility and commissioning it) is around 18 months, according to KSEB’s projection. But the gestation period of the pumped storage systems is around 8-10 years. Maharashtra’s demand is around 30,000MW, but it generates around 27,000MW. So, their dependency on other states is only around 10%. But our generation is just around 25%. That means we have 75% dependency on other states. Similarly, the Union govt is introducing Santhi Project whereby if a state where a nuclear plant is located demands 100% energy generated from it, then it should be given. An overview ———— CONSUMPTION 5,045MW was Keralam’s power consumption in Aug ———— Had there been no restriction, consumption would’ve gone up to 5,500MW ———— 1,000MW more power was consumed this year compared to the same period last year ———— 4% increase
Now, it has increased by more than 1,000 MW due to soaring temperature and subsequent use of air-conditioners among other factors. The irony is that most of the solar power generated in the state is being wasted due to lack of storage facilities. So, we won’t get power even if we try to buy it,” KSEB chairperson and managing director M G Rajamanickam said. After the mid-eighties, KSEB has not launched any major projects to generate power.
The fact remains to be probed,” said KSEB Employees Association president Manoj E. KSEB must prepare a least-cost capacity addition plan as well,” said Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission member B Pradeep. “KSEB and govt should ensure that the plan is being implemented as well,” he added. What we need are BESS facilities,” said energy transition consultant Sasi Kottayil. But Kottayil says that a community BESS facility can be set up in a container, in three or four months. Here lies the key problem,” Rajamanickam said. Once the new scheme is on, Keralam may not get nuclear energy from neighbouring states,” Rajamanickam says.
Kochi : The severity of the present power crisis in Kerala is something the state has not faced in the past two decades. Adverse climatic conditions caused by El Nino, a spike in the use of air-conditioners and electric vehicle chargers, unavailability of power across the country and failure on the part of the state govt in implementing short-term solutions at a fast pace — all these have contributed to the current situation. Unlike in the past, there is a power shortage across India. Apprehensions are being raised whether the private generators have any role in creating the shortage of power. Experts in the power sector say that Keralam must design both short-term and long-term plans to mitigate the crisis. The board submitted its plan to us last Dec, but it was incomplete. For this purpose, the board should map the current availability. Of this, BESS facilities at Mylatti in Kasaragod (125MW) and Sreekantapuram in Kannur (40MW) may be commissioned by Jan. Several applications by consumers to set up rooftop solar plants are pending before KSEB. Besides KSEB setting them up, there should be community BESS facilities at panchayat level. Local bodies can set them up with the support of cooperatives. KSEB can procure that energy during daytime and store it in BESS for meeting the demand at night,” he added. A pumped storage system is another long-term solution for which new reservoirs must be built downstream of the existing dams of hydel projects. Water flowing down from the dam after power generation could be stored in the reservoir downstream and pumped again to the dam upstream to generate power. “We’ve been depending on procured power to meet our needs all these years. In the absence of our own projects, power crisis may be the order of the day. All south Indian states face power crises, but most of them generate a high quantity of energy on their own. “Other states have a mix of hydel, wind, solar, thermal and nuclear plants. So, if one mode of energy does not come through, they can depend on another. Setting up thermal plants in Keralam is not viable. But our potential in hydel projects is yet to be tapped fully. There should be a consensus in this regard. So far, it was mandatory to share a certain percentage of nuclear energy with other states. So, the thrust should be on generating more power in Keralam. Equally important is creating awareness among the public regarding avoiding energy loss. Unnecessary use of electricity should be avoided. KSEB should take steps to create awareness among the public and consumers regarding energy. KERALA POWER METER How much power the state generates, buys and consumes?
The state procured around 380MW from other states, especially from north India, during April-May 2026. Keralam recorded the highest power consumption in April this year — more than 6,100MW. Given the fact that the shortage of power Keralam now faces is around 1,000 MW, the crisis may subside to a certain extent soon.
But from March to May next year, it is almost certain that Keralam will stumble upon a severe power shortage unless the state govt takes immediate steps anticipating the crisis. in consumption is projected by KSEB for next year ———- Aug 2026 witnessed a 11% higher use in energy use compared to the same month last year ———- 6pm to midnight peak consumption ———— Solar energy without storage system is not useful in meeting peak demand ————————————————————— GENERATION 2,200MW is the installed capacity of KSEB’s hydel plants —————– 1,600MW-1,800MW was the power generation through hydel projects in July-Aug this year —————– 1,600MW was the central allocation to Keralam ————– PROCUREMENT 630MW the state procures through various long-term agreements —————- 200MW is procured through short-term agreements ————- 150MW is procured from energy exchanges ———————– 51% of KSEB’s total revenue is spent on power purchase ————- SHORTAGE & CRISIS A shortage of up to 1000 MW is currently felt, according to KSEB ————- Functioning of hospitals, particularly operation theatres, is hit due to frequent power outages ———— Students’ studies at night are affected ————– Toddlers are among the most hit ————– High temperature coupled with power outages causes sleep disruptions for babies ————– Pumping of water from KWA’s pumphouses is hit —————- Issues in recharging EV vehicles ———– CONSUMERS 1.43cr KSEB consumers in state ———— 1.07cr domestic & 27.47L commercial ———– 1.47L industry consumers ———– 60% of KSEB’s revenue comes from domestic and commercial consumers ——————————————————————— SOLAR ENERGY 4.20L consumers use solar power in the state ————– They include plants erected under PM Surya Ghar, KSEB’s Soura and other independent projects ————- 4.19L low-tension consumers ———– 1,076 high-tension consumers ———- 8 extra high-tension consumers ————- 2,162MW is the total power generated through rooftop solar plants as of May 2026 ————- 300MW-500MW are generated by KSEB through its solar farms You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kochi | Silver Rate in Kochi | Bank Holidays in Kochi | Public Holidays in Kochi Stay updated with the latest Kochi news. It seems things will change for the better — at least for a few months until next summer. Back then, the north Indian states had adequate power and less consumption. Keralam entered into a power swapping agreement with those states by assuring that electricity would be returned in the July-Sept period, when Keralam normally gets good rain and has surplus power. The northern states where the monsoon arrives much later will need more electricity in these months. In Sept, Keralam’s obligations to return power procured under power swapping will end. It means the state’s power shortage will become less by 380MW. Similarly, the state govt is negotiating with other states to procure power to tide over the current crisis and is expecting a positive outcome. Download the TOI App.