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If summer poses a problem to the state power utility in terms of higher power consumption and the dwindling water storage in dams, it seems to be lucrative too. The revenue of the state electricity board from power bills crossed INR 870 crore in March - the highest in its history - as against the average monthly collection of INR 750 crore.

"The revenue collection in March registered a considerable increase. It was only around INR 750 crore for at least five months now. The rising power consumption and replacement of around 11 lakh dysfunctional electronic meters are the main reason for this," Kerala State Electricity Board director (finance) S Venugopal said.

The monthly average power consumption in the state during February this year was 61.34mu while it jumped to 65 mu in March and 69.54 mu in April. The revenue collection of the board during March was for electricity consumers used during February. Considering the steep increase in power consumption, the revenue realisation for March and April under this head would go up further.

The board has been able to run the show till date without depending heavily on the thermal power, which costs around INR 13/mu. It is running the hydel stations to its full potential to meet the rising consumption but the average generation of power from these stations crossed 30 mu on Friday. The board's estimate of maximum power that can be generated from these hydel stations a day to keep optimum water level in dams is 20 mu. The power the board had contracted well in advance with traders under the southern power corridor has been salvaging it from a crisis.

Source-On Request