The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is hoping to provide power supply from its grid to 25 tribal settlements before the 2023 monsoon season under a State government initiative. Supply will be provided from the KSEB grid using the more safer aerial bunched cables (ABC), and in some cases, underground cables.
The 25 settlements are among the 101 identified by the KSEB as lacking access to electricity due to their remoteness and other terrain-related difficulties. The cost of covering the 1,009 households in 25 settlements, estimated at ₹24.26 crore, will be borne by the Scheduled Tribes Development department as per an agreement reached with the Power department.
Fourteen of the settlements are in Idukki district, seven in Palakkad, three in Nilambur, Malappuram, and one in Pathanamthitta. The KSEB had originally put together a list of 64 settlements, but some more settlements have been added based on fresh inputs from the Scheduled Tribes Development department and the offices under it, according to a recent order issued by the KSEB.
Solar power units
For settlements where grid extension is impractical due to geographical reasons, supply will be provided by installing solar power units. The latter option will be explored in 38 settlements.
Electrification of tribal settlements that lack access to power supply is being carried out by the KSEB and the Agency for New and Renewable Energy Research and Technology (ANERT) under an initiative of the Power department. According to the KSEB, eight settlements have been given supply from the grid so far. Work on another nine is in progress. Although the original plan was to cover all settlements by March 31, 2023, the work is likely to overshoot the deadline given the difficulties involved in setting up the infrastructure, a KSEB official said.
The KSEB is hoping to cover the 25 settlements now identified for grid extension by May, ahead of the southwest monsoon onset over the State.
