Kerala power crisis deepens as outages trigger UDF-LDF war

The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has been imposing evening and night-time restrictions for nearly two weeks. The immediate problem is a widening gap between demand and available supply. Peak demand, which was around 4,000 MW during the same period last year, has climbed to nearly 5,200 MW, while reduced rainfall and lower reservoir inflows have affected hydel generation.

Kerala can generate around 1,750 MW from its hydel stations at maximum capacity and meets a substantial portion of its requirements through the central grid and power purchase agreements. Officials have also pointed to a broader shortage in national power availability as a factor aggravating the situation.

Electricity Minister Sunny Joseph and Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan have attributed the shortage to increased consumption, unusually high temperatures, inadequate rainfall and reduced power availability. The government has also faced questions over the availability of long-term power contracts.

The Opposition has seized on the issue to attack the new UDF administration. Former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has rejected the government's criticism of the previous LDF government over a disputed 465-MW power purchase agreement, arguing that regulatory and legal issues surrounding the contract led to its cancellation.

The political rhetoric has spilled onto the streets, with CPI(M) workers reportedly distributing candles and referring to the outages as the “Indira cut” and “Satheesan cut.” Traders have also announced protests over the disruption.

The crisis has consequently evolved beyond temporary outages into a broader debate over Kerala’s dependence on outside electricity, long-term power procurement, generation capacity and energy planning. KSEB has indicated that restrictions could continue through September unless additional power becomes available.