No load shedding in Kerala, 'overuse' causing power disruptions: Minister Krishnankutty

Kerala Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty on Wednesday denied that there was any load shedding in the state, which has been facing frequent power outages recently, and claimed that ''overuse'' was causing ''power tripping'' which led to the disruptions. Krishnankutty further claimed that such ''power trips'' due to ''overload'' were for a short duration of 5-10 minutes. ''There is no load shedding in the state at the moment,'' he told reporters after a meeting with the State Electricity Regulatory Commission. At the same time, he did not rule out that there would be no load-shedding in future. The minister said that the state received 250 megawatts of electricity and if it could get more, then there would be no problems. ''It rained the previous day and therefore, there were no power issues. Once it rains more, the problems will be addressed,'' he contended. Later, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) also said, in a statement, that there were only a little ''power restrictions'' and no load shedding. It said that with the receipt of 200 megawatt of electricity approved by the regulatory commission and 200 megawatt from central generating stations, it was able to provide uninterrupted power to most parts of the state. ''It is also noteworthy that despite the summer rains in the central and southern parts of the state, there was no significant decrease in power demand. The state's electricity consumption on Tuesday was 116.5 million units,'' it said. It also said that minor power restrictions were required in a few places in the Malabar region due to overloading of some power lines. The responses by the minister and KSEB come amidst widespread protests in the state over the frequent power disruptions. The minister had recently said that the ongoing power crunch was triggered by extreme heat and increased use of induction cookers and air conditioners. Following the power disruptions, the UDF has been criticising the ruling LDF's poll campaign claim of a decade without electricity cuts.

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