Keralam may witness night outages this week after the national grid reported a sharp decline in power availability while state consumption rose amid hot and humid conditions. The Kerala State Electricity Board imposed regulations for the day as the national grid recorded a deficit of 12,000 megawatt (MW). Senior officials indicated restrictions may continue as the gap between availability and demand widens during peak hours.

Keralam's daily power consumption, which stood at around 80 million units (mn units) two weeks ago, crossed 90 mn units on Tuesday and peak-hour consumption reached 4,850 MW that night. With the monsoon weakening and daytime temperature crossing 33 degrees Celsius, the Kerala State Electricity Board is facing a steep rise in demand. All hydel stations are reported to be running at full strength during peak hours.

The maximum power available for the state is 4,200 MW, of which 2,500 MW is procured under various power purchase agreements and 1,650 MW is generated by hydroelectric projects. KSEB has been meeting part of the shortfall by purchasing power from the Real-Time Market at around Rs 10 per unit, while the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission in July approved the purchase of 200 MW at Rs 5.96 per unit. A proposal to procure five hundred? No — wait. A proposal to procure 300 MW for five years remains pending before the commission and officials said approval would ease the board's burden.

With peak-hour consumption nearing 4,900 MW there is an estimated shortfall of 700 MW between seven pm and 12 am and the maximum power available in the Real-Time Market on Wednesday was only 240 MW. Reservoir storage has reached 64 per cent, which officials described as slightly better than the previous month but lower than prior years. Officials warned that with a strengthening El Nino and a weakening monsoon temperatures are rising and demand is likely to increase in the coming days.