Load-shedding to continue

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The high-level meeting of Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has decided to continue the half-an-hour load-shedding during nights.The meeting also decided to rectify the anomalies regarding the timing of the power cut and streamline the entire process.The meeting, presided over by KSEB chairman T M Manoharan here on Friday, also decided not to impose load-shedding on the same area twice a day. It has also been decided to spare vital installations such as hospitals and airports from load-shedding.The load-shedding was resorted to after supply problems were encountered in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu which resulted in a power deficiency of an estimated 400 MW.Production at the Ramagundam power plant interrupted after the Telengana agitators blocked the movement of coal. The Neyveli plant in Tamil Nadu and Talcher plant in Orissa too had developed technical snags. The total demand in the state during peak hours is 2,900 MW while for the daytime it is 2,300 MW.KSEB has also decided to make available an extra 64 MW power from the Kozhikode Nallalam thermal plant and 85 MW from the Brahmapuram during peak hours. Meanwhile, the KSEB is not purchasing power from the Kayamkulam plant as it may be too costly.