{
  "id": 5541560,
  "title": "Examine if hydropower generation can be shifted to night, Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission tells Kerala State Electricity Board",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/examine-if-hydropower-generation-can-be-shifted-to-night-kerala-state",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-04T11:14:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/examine-if-hydropower-generation-can-be-shifted-to-night-kerala-state-electricity-regulatory-commission-tells-kerala-state-electricity-board/article71427881.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission has instructed the Kerala State Electricity Board to investigate the potential of shifting hydropower generation from daytime to nighttime hours. This recommendation comes as Kerala is currently grappling with evening electricity shortages. The commission, led by T.K. Jose, made the proposal at a meeting on Thursday, September 4, 2026, during a discussion of a petition requesting approval for high-cost power purchases to address anticipated shortages.\n\nThe commission's reasoning is that Kerala has surplus power during the day due to increased solar power generation. To make room for exported solar power to the grid, KSEB has been surrendering power already contracted from various sources. The commission believes that by moving hydropower generation to nighttime, this issue could be alleviated and expensive power procurement from outside Kerala could be avoided.\n\nIn April 2026, a KSEB representative informed the commission that the utility was surrendering between 6 million to 10 million units of round-the-clock power due to excess electricity generated during the day. The commission also noted that KSEB had surrendered up to 1,000 MW of central generating stations and other round-the-clock contracts during that month. In the summer and monsoon months of 2026, Kerala faced a power crisis, and on September 2 and 3, KSEB imposed power curbs to address the shortage in central supply.",
  "summary": "Commission has made the suggestion on the assumption that shifting production to night will help address the after-6 p.m. electricity shortages, thereby avoiding expensive power procurement from outside the State. Commission’s rationale is that Keralam has surplus power during the daytime on account of the sharp rise in solar power capability in recent years",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}