Kerala’s Power Crunch Expected to Ease Within a Week, Says Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan

Thiruvananthapuram – After a tense Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Kerala’s chief minister V.D. Satheesan told reporters that the state’s lingering power crisis is likely to calm down in the next seven days. He said officials are actively talking to a handful of neighboring states and private power firms to lock in fresh electricity supplies.

Satheesan explained that a short‑term supply plan, covering the period from October 1 right up to the arrival of the next monsoon, is already being drafted. Alongside that, a revised power‑policy document will be put on the table, aiming to plug the gaps that have emerged over the past months.

He didn’t hide the reasons behind the current crunch. “We’re seeing a steady rise in overall consumption, especially after dark, and our solar‑energy storage capacity is practically non‑existent,” he said. Add to that a weaker than usual monsoon, scant rainfall and soaring temperatures, and the grid has been stretched thin.

The government is also in the midst of negotiating long‑term power‑purchase agreements. However, Satheesan was clear that Kerala will not agree to pay the Rs 30 per unit that the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has been asking for, when the state’s ceiling sits at just Rs 10 per unit.

On the renewable front, the chief minister welcomed the idea of private players stepping up their investments in Kerala’s green‑energy projects. Yet he firmly ruled out any move to privatise the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), stressing that the board will remain a public utility.

For now, the state continues to enforce power cuts, particularly at night, as temperatures hover high and rainfall remains elusive. The hope, according to Satheesan, is that the fresh electricity inflow and policy tweaks will bring those nightly blackouts down to a bare minimum within a week.