KERALA’S PERENNIAL POWER SHORTAGE

Ever since the formation of Kerala state on 01-11-1956 with the reorganization of Indian states, it has been facing power shortage of varying degrees. Long before the formation of the state, in 1912 to be exact, the idea of power generation was taken up in the princely state of Travancore and the first hydro power plant was commissioned in 1929 at a cost of Rs.9 lakhs. Kerala Govt. has been trying to increase power supply to keep pace with increasing demand but with limited success. Since the state is blessed with a number of rivers, hydel projects of varying capacities were seen as the obvious solution to the problem. Accordingly several large, medium and small hydro electric projects were commissioned. However, despite having an installed capacity of more than 2600 MW in the hydro electric sector alone, generation of power is only about 30% to 35% at an average of 800MW. Vagaries of the monsoon is the main reason for the poor power generation. The shortage is still persisting with no remedy foreseeable in the near future.