Kerala Faces Power Cut Crisis: What Happened And How People Are Coping With Night-Time Outages

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If you are in Kerala, chances are you have already dealt with a power cut this month, and perhaps more than once. For much of September, evening and night-time power cuts became a recurring disruption for households across the state. The restrictions eased towards the end of the month, with KSEB managing to avoid them on September 25 and 26 after securing additional power and as demand eased. But what caused the power crunch in the first place, and how did people cope with the interruptions?

Photo Credit: Image is AI-generated

The current crisis began to intensify in early September, when electricity availability fell short of demand during peak hours. On September 3, KSEB said the national grid was facing a 12,000 MW deficit, while Kerala's daily consumption had crossed 90 million units and peak demand had reached around 4,850 MW. It subsequently imposed peak-hour power restrictions in the state.

Why Is Kerala Facing Power Cuts?

There isn't one single reason behind the shortage. Kerala's electricity demand has risen considerably, while the state has also had fewer options to increase supply.

A weak monsoon has affected water inflows into reservoirs, limiting hydropower generation. At the same time, hotter conditions have pushed up electricity use, particularly from fans and air conditioners. Kerala also depends heavily on electricity from outside the state, and the availability of power from central generating stations and the wider electricity market has been under pressure.

The timing of the cuts is closely linked to the demand-supply gap during peak hours. Evening is when electricity use rises sharply as people return home, cook, study, use appliances and switch on fans and air conditioners.

For Children, Evenings Look Different Now

For children, an evening power cut can mean finding something to do without a television, phone or other gadgets.

Ruth, 8, from Pathanamthitta, has her own way of dealing with it.

"When the power goes out in the evening and I can't watch TV or use my gadgets, I usually play Sudoku or paint. If it gets dark, I enjoy telling stories and listening to stories from the people around me. It makes the power cut a little more fun while we wait for the electricity to come back."

For her 14-year-old brother, Ryan, the problem is less about entertainment and more about studying.

"The hardest part is studying in the evening because candlelight is too dim, and even the emergency light can run out. When the power cut happens while I'm studying, I have to manage with whatever light we have and wait for the electricity to return."

When The Mixie Stops, Old Methods Come Back

The kitchen is another place where an evening power cut can immediately disrupt a household routine.

Rajna, 40, a homemaker from Thrissur, says she turns to traditional methods when an appliance cannot be used.

"If I'm in the kitchen when the power goes out and I need to use the mixie, I switch to traditional methods. Many homes in Kerala still have an 'ami kallu' (traditional stone grinder) and 'viraku aduppu' (wood-fired stove), so we can grind things by hand and cook in a pot over a fire. If there's nothing much to do, I would also spend time outdoors with my family rather than just sit at home in the dark."

An evening power cut can therefore affect much more than lighting. It can interrupt cooking, household chores and the routine families follow after returning home.

Photo Credit: Image is AI-generated

For Some, Today's Cuts Bring Back Older Memories

For Susan, a 74-year-old grandmother from Vadesarikara, today's power cuts also bring back memories of how people coped with electricity interruptions when she was younger.

"We used to light a kerosene lamp when we were younger. There were no inverters, emergency lights, generators or solar panels to fall back on. The kerosene lamp was all we had, so we simply carried on with whatever we needed to do."

The difference is striking. A power cut that once meant reaching for a kerosene lamp can now mean switching to an emergency light, checking the inverter, charging a phone or trying to keep a fan running through the night.

And Then There Is The Heat

For families with young children, however, the biggest problem may not be studying or cooking but simply getting through a hot night without a fan.

Jenzy Paul, a mother of a small child, described her frustration in an Instagram post after experiencing a midnight power cut.

"I genuinely want to understand the logic behind scheduling load shedding at 12 AM. Just when we were peacefully sleeping, the fan stopped, and it was so hot that we were literally sweating in the middle of the night. When you have a child sleeping beside you, the panic is even greater when the fan suddenly stops and they become uncomfortable. If these power cuts have to happen, I just wish the authorities would choose daytime hours instead of disturbing people in the middle of the night."

Her experience captures why the timing of the restrictions matters as much as the cut itself. The evening is when families return home, prepare food, study, finish chores and eventually go to sleep. When the electricity goes off during those hours, an issue on the power grid quickly becomes an issue inside people's homes.

Kerala Is Being Asked To Change How It Uses Power

For many households, September has meant adjusting evening routines around the possibility of a power cut - whether that means keeping emergency lights ready, charging devices in advance or finding alternatives when appliances cannot be used. With restrictions easing in recent days but the supply situation still requiring careful management, one question remains: how much longer will Kerala's households have to plan their evenings around the possibility of a power cut?