Kerala expects night-time power restrictions to end as short-term open access supply rises to 600 MW

Kerala Administration Economy & Banking Polity & Governance

Kerala expects night-time power restrictions to end as short-term open access supply rises to 600 MW

30 September 2026

Kerala expects to end night-time power restrictions from 1 October after a month in which restrictions were imposed on 24 of 30 days.
Peak-hour shortage reached 611 MW on 29 September.
Short-term open access (STOA) availability rises from 200 MW in September to 600 MW from October, an addition of at least 400 MW.
The Congress-led Himachal Pradesh government has agreed to supply peak-time power in October according to Kerala's requirement; the price is not yet fixed, and a KSEB official said it might be slightly over Rs 10 per unit.
Payback power returned to other states, just under 4 million units a day in September, virtually comes to a stop in October.

STOA contracts from October: 600 MW (from 200 MW in September) Peak-hour shortage on 29 September: 611 MW Days with restrictions in September: 24 of 30

Why it matters for exams: A state-level power purchase and supply issue is a live Kerala governance topic, and terms like STOA and payback power appear in economy and administration questions.

Kerala PSC

30 September 2026 Source: Onmanorama

In plain words

STOA Short-term open access — A way for a state to buy power for short periods from another supplier over the grid.

KSEB Kerala State Electricity Board — The state utility that generates, buys and distributes electricity in Kerala.

Payback power Power returned under a swap arrangement — Electricity a state returns later to another state that supplied it earlier under a swap.