KSEB to open tenders for extra power supply today

The power utility is seeking 500 MW from 6 p.m. to midnight and from midnight to 2 a.m. from April 15 to May 31 and 500 MW roundtheclock from June 1 to June 30

Amid the continuing surge in electricity demand, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) will open tenders on Friday for additional power procurement to meet the demand till the end of June.

The KSEB has received 11 bids in response to the tenders it had floated seeking power supply on shortterm basis to meet the evening peakhour demand for the period from April 14 to June 30. The tenders will be opened on Friday and the bids will be finalised after a reverse auction process. The etenders were placed through the ebidding portal Discovery of Efficient Electricity Price (DEEP).

As per the bid document, the power utility is seeking 500 megawatts (MW) for the time slots from 6 p.m. to midnight and from midnight to 2 a.m. from April 15 to May 31 and 500 MW roundtheclock supply from June 1 to June 30.

High demand

For the KSEB, April is turning out to be a harsher version of March. Electricity consumption has remained above 100 million units (mu) on the first 10 days of April with Statelevel records for the day’s consumption and average maximum demand being reset almost on a daily basis.

On April 9, the State recorded 111.79 mu as the day’s consumption and maximum demand (evening hours) of 5,493 MW, both alltime highs for Kerala.

As per the projections made by the KSEB, the State is likely to face a shortage of 800850 MW during the evening peak hours in April and 600800 MW in May. While the demand has outstripped the projections, the KSEB is hoping that the demandsupply gap can be managed through power purchase arrangements.