Kerala - Kochi   

Forget monsoon, find other solutions to power crisis

The only solution to ease out of the present shortage of power supply is to reduce its consumption. Public must be sensitised to save electricity. In this the media can play a major role. Unauthorised use of domestic and industrial power supply should be checked. There are hundreds of factories in the State, which are cheating the Kerala State Electricity Board. Surprise checks and raids must be conducted in these places and culprits must be heavily fined.

As the monsoon is not yet in full swing, we will have to depend on other States for electricity. Repairing the generators and finding some other alternative sources of electricity can also be tried out.

S.N. Thiruvazhiode

Poonithura

No wonder that Kerala is groping in the dark this monsoon. The reasons are not far to seek. Kerala State Electricity Board is a leviathan unable to move an inch forward. The Centre had ordered restructuring of the Board into Generation, Transmission and Distribution sections, so that some viability is achieved. But the trade unions would not allow.

The Board has asked for more time to implement the restructuring. Generators and power stations are not well maintained. Metres are faulty, and the faulty ones are not replaced. No customer or industry is sure of a constant supply. Dependence on hydroelectricity alone is a risky affair. The State does not want atomic power stations as it fears a Chernobyl from every atomic station. We have to change out mindset to get out of this situation.

M. Ramankutty

Thripunithura

Kerala will be short of electricity in a few years and we will have to find out the alternative sources of energy very soon. The government, KSEB and the public at large should come together to face the situation. We should reduce the consumption of electricity in all levels. Streetlights should be switched off early in the morning. Misuse of electricity in government and quasi-government offices, hotels and private offices should be stopped at the earliest. The media can play a major role.

S.N. Panicker

Poonithura

The rain gods did play tricks initially but now the monsoon has gathered momentum. But that should not stop the government from investigating why penstocks leaked so often. How many generators have caught fire and why? All this clearly point out to the lack of maintenance, supervision and failure to locate faults in time and take remedial action. It can also be argued that it is the failure of the Minister concerned and his staff. Here is a utility department, which receives payment for its services. Is there a maintenance record of generators? Does anyone inspect transformers and check whether there is sufficient oil in it? The department must consider the anguish of the people who pay for the services. If the Minister concerned is sensible enough, he must privatise the department.

P.M.G. Pillai

Mannar

Regarding our energy needs we need a mixed approach. Hydel power is cheap and available in plenty. We have to tap all these resources including the Athirappally, Vazhachal project without harming the environment. We can also try to tap alternative sources like wind, sea wave etc. Kerala’s geographical position near the equator will help us in tapping solar energy. Another source is nuclear energy. Although there was a proposal to build a nuclear power plant in Kerala, due to opposition from environmentalists, Tamil Nadu snatched this project and built it near our border. We should remember the word of Homi Babha “No energy is more expensive than not having energy”.

Sreenath S.K

Kulathoor-Prayar

Electricity, fuel, water, are the basic requirements for the human being of the 21st century. Last year the price of crude was 70 dollars per barrel, and now it is more than double. We are misusing the subsidy given by the government by using domestic power supply for industrial and other purpose and using the current supply for unwanted things. If sufficient awareness is given to the public on these terms, we can manage the power problem of the State.

The present issue is shortage of water in our dams. The monsoon has proved to be unreliable at times. The issue of permanent lack of power supply is not to be solved by this rainfall and we have to find some other solution for the purpose.

P. Sankaranarayanan

Petta

The delayed monsoon has become a handy alibi for the Electricity Board to cover up their inefficiency in providing uninterrupted power supply to the common man and the industry. True the monsoon has delayed but this is not the first time it has happened. What about the unprecedented rainfall that was received in the summer. Where has all this water disappeared?

Perhaps the Electricity Board or its vocal Minister have no answer.

To tide over the situation, we must seriously consider generation of thermal power in a large way including development of nuclear energy.

The Board cannot absolve it of its duties if it does not act professionally and devise methods and systems to plug the inefficiency at all levels; be it generation or distribution or maintenance.

T.N. Ramachandran Nair

Nellayi

To meet with our requirement of electricity, we cannot simply rely on unpredictable monsoon. In this context, it is imperative that we go for production of electricity using LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas). A proposal was mooted long time ago and presumably considerable progress has already been made to set up an LNG terminal in Kochi to receive LNG from Middle East, the proprietors being Petronet and NTPC with some foreign partners. The advantage of using LNG is that it is eco-friendly and reliable.

Ambalath Aboobakar

Pavaratty

The weather pattern is undergoing unpredictable changes. The global warming, excessive carbonisation, holed ozone layer, absence of regularity in weather pattern, untimely rains and unbearableness of routine weather fluctuations are some of the examples of Nature’s response.

Nature does not favour any form of interference including harnessing of river water because the function of river water is to flow down and not amassing into a huge body of water which can result in natural disasters like earth quakes and flash floods etc..

The right decision to overcome the lacuna is to diversify the sources of power generation with least disturbance to nature by promoting usage of solar power and wind and tide energy.

Capt. O. B. Nair

Poonithura

What went wrong with our KSEB productivity? There should be a new focus on production-a better blend of technology and human resources-including the necessity of treating the workforce as an asset rather than a cost. The situation will not be remedied simply by trying harder to do the same thing that have failed to work in the past. The main culprit is not the monsoon but the sharp decline of our work ethic.

Gopinath Koonath

by e-mail

The power crisis that has gripped Kerala of late is mainly the result of poor energy management and poorer planning. Mega hydel projects are not suitable for the State. Micro hydel projects can be thought of to meet the increased energy needs.

N. K. Vijayan

Kizhakkambalam

The recent announcement of one-hour load shedding, which was later cut short to half-an-hour by the State government revealed that the State is weak in catering to the burgeoning power needs of its people. Kerala is yet to face acute shortage of power and water. This is the perfect time to switch over to alternative sources of power. The State should encourage the use of solar devices at both commercial and domestic levels. Promotion of other sources of energy by social organisations such as Kudumbasree will prove effective. For instance, there are many single households, which have adopted biogas for safe and clean disposal of domestic wastes. Similar ventures can be initialised in regard of power consumption thereby, preventing load- sheddings in the future. Global warming and climatic changes have grabbed all eyes and ears. Kerala, being a coastal State will be the first to be swallowed by the rising sea levels.

Krishna K.,

Maradu

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

New rules for working in the United Kingdom
Focus on unorganised sector, unions told
District Collector pulled up
RLD leader calls on Bishop
Antony wants Left to wait till next UPA meet
Hospital expansion
Trade hartal
Textbook protest
Against parking fee
Unregulated work force adds to Labour Department’s woes
Rs. 2 crore for poverty alleviation
11 buses seized
Forget monsoon, find other solutions to power crisis
Kochi today

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu