Thiruvananthapuram: Widespread protests broke out across Kerala following undeclared power cuts, with agitated consumers staging demonstrations outside offices of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), including during late-night hours.
In Thrissur district, a large crowd marched to the KSEB Kundannur division office at Erumapetty around midnight on Tuesday after enduring prolonged outages. The protest continued into early Wednesday, with several demonstrators lying down inside and outside the office premises, demanding an immediate resolution.
Despite officials informing the crowd that the disruption was caused by a fault in a major feeder line, protesters persisted with their agitation.
Similar demonstrations were reported from Kozhikode, where workers of the Indian Union Muslim League’s Youth League staged a protest at the Panniyankara KSEB office in the early hours over power outages. At the Nadapuram substation, activists organised a candlelight protest.
In Malappuram, Youth Congress activists held a protest at the KSEB office in Pandikkad on Tuesday night. In several areas, KSEB employees reportedly sought police protection amid fears of escalating protests over power disruptions.
The unrest comes as KSEB has indicated that it may impose short-duration power curtailments of up to 30 minutes between 6 pm and midnight to maintain grid stability, amid a sharp surge in electricity demand driven by extreme heat.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Additional Chief Secretary (Power) Puneet Kumar, attended by KSEB Chairman and Managing Director Minhaj Alam and other senior officials in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.
According to a KSEB statement, a steep rise in power consumption has placed significant strain on the transmission and distribution network, raising the risk of major disruptions if not managed promptly. The chief engineer of the State Load Despatch Centre has been authorised to enforce short-duration restrictions during peak evening hours, if required, with the situation to be reviewed on a daily basis.
Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty said the ongoing power crisis has been triggered by extreme heat and increased usage of appliances such as induction cookers and air conditioners.
The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission has permitted KSEB to procure an additional 250 MW of power daily until May 15 to meet the rising demand.
Amid the developments, the Opposition United Democratic Front criticised the ruling Left Democratic Front, pointing to its earlier claim of a decade without power cuts and citing the recent outages reported from multiple parts of the state.
With PTI inputs