Daytime power cut withdrawn

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A day after announcing daytime loadshedding to overcome the power crisis, the KSEB withdrew it as 150 MW of power was restored from the Central supply on Saturday.Half-hour loadshedding during the peak evening hours, however, will continue.The Centre has restored the supply of 150 MW from the Talcher power station in Orissa.However, the state will still have to tighten its belt in the days ahead as uncertainty prevails over the remaining Central share. On Saturday, Kerala was short of 555 MW from the central generation stations, of which Talcher alone accounted for 230 MW. Union Minister of State for Power K C Venugopal said in New Delhi that the state’s share had been partially restored. “The Talcher station is partially operational now,” he said. The Ramagundam power station in Andhra Pradesh, which is in trouble owing to the Telangana agitation, is not expected to resume operations soon. The Electricity Minister, who held discussions with the KSEB officials on Sunday, is expected to make a statement in the Assembly on Monday.With the state’s daily consumption hovering near 55 MW, usually a summer phenomenon, the KSEB has urged the public to use electricity judiciously.Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan, attending a function here on Sunday, demanded the state government to put pressure on the Centre to restore its share in its entirety. “Even before the crisis, the state was not getting its due share,” he said.