Kerala shows record power use of 100 million units on April 17 as mercury rises

Thiruvananthapuram: The state of Kerala has been suffering intense heat for the previous few days, with Tuesday's maximum temperature of 39.7 degrees Celsius in the Palakkad district being the highest.

As the temperature rises, Kerala's state power authority reports that on April 17, the state's daily electricity usage reached a new record of 100.35 million units (mu).

The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) said this was the third day this month that the consumption has crossed the 100 million units mark, a first in the history of the state.

Consumption crossed the 100 million unit mark for the first time on April 13, a senior KSEB official said.

"Last year, the highest consumption was around 96 million units on April 28. That mark was crossed in the last week itself," the official said.

KSEB, however, said that even though the state was witnessing record consumption, the situation was manageable as electricity was available from the power exchange at an affordable rate.