The monsoon seems to have at last ended its hide and seek game with Idukki, Kerala's largest hydel reservoir, which recorded 5.1 cm rain on Thursday.

This was the first major rain spell that the catchment received almost two weeks after the onset of monsoon was declared.

Generator shutdown

The State depends on its network of hydel stations for as much as 70 per cent of the demand for power.

Shutdown of a number of generators for repair and maintenance, peaking of consumption due to delay in the onset of rains, and lack of adequate of facilities to evacuate power from central generating stations had in recent times combined to create a crunch situation for the Kerala State Electricity Board.

Load-shedding on

A load-shedding schedule extending to 45 minutes during evening peak hours is going on in the State.

This is despite purchasing costly liquid-fired power from NTPC plants at home and from outside sources.

The reservoir level at Idukki on Thursday was 2,308 ft compared with 2,316.5 ft this time last year.

The catchment area received merely 16.6 cm during June 1 to 19, which compares poorly with 71.4 cm during the same period last year.

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