Thiruvananthapuram, April 28 (IANS) Kerala decided to reintroduce load shedding starting from Tuesday, marking a significant shift in the state’s power narrative that had been a key political plank for the ruling Left government during the recent Assembly election campaign.

At a high-level review meeting, Additional Chief Secretary, Power, Puneet Kumar, reviewed the worsening electricity situation and authorised power cuts of up to 30 minutes between 6 p.m. and 12 midnight in extreme conditions to ensure grid stability.

The meeting, attended by Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) Chairman and Managing Director Minhaj Alam and other senior officials, cited an unprecedented surge in demand amid soaring temperatures.

The development comes despite repeated assertions by the Pinarayi Vijayan government that Kerala had remained free of load shedding for nearly a decade under Left rule, often contrasted with the previous Congress-led UDF regime.

Data presented at the meeting underscores the scale of the crisis.

Peak electricity consumption touched an all-time high of 118.26 million units on April 27, while demand after 6 p.m. rose to a record 6,033 MW.

A brief spike to 6,195 MW was recorded on April 23 at 10.30 pm.

Officials said temperatures, initially forecast at 38 degrees Celsius, climbed to 41 degrees Celsius, sharply driving up consumption.

The meeting noted that electricity availability in the national market has declined amid a widespread heat wave, exacerbating the situation for Kerala, which depends on external sources for over 70 per cent of its power needs.

A 200 MW shortfall from central generating stations, however, is expected to be resolved shortly.

Authorities attributed the surge to increased air-conditioner usage, electric vehicle charging after 6 p.m., and a growing shift to induction cooking following cooking gas shortages linked to the West Asian conflict.

Demand spikes were found to be most acute between 9:30 p.m. and midnight.

The crisis has triggered fresh political sparring, with Leader of Opposition V. D. Satheesan already alleging that faulty and opaque power purchase agreements entered by the government have weakened long-term energy security and pushed the state towards avoidable shortages.

The KSEB has urged consumers to cooperate by avoiding EV charging during peak hours, maintaining AC temperatures between 24 degrees Celsius and 26 degrees Celsius, and limiting the use of high-power appliances.

The Energy Management Centre will issue detailed public advisories.

With daily monitoring now in place, the government faces both an operational test and a political challenge as it seeks to manage demand without prolonged disruptions, ahead of vote counting for the April 9 Assembly elections on May 4.

–IANS

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