The Kerala State Electricity Board, constituted by the Government of Kerala, by order dated 7.3.1957, under the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 is in the business of Generation, Transmission and Distribution of electricity and striving to provide quality  electricity at affordable cost to all classes of consumers in the state of  Kerala. As per section 172 (a) of the Electricity Act 2003 and as mutually decided by the Government of India and Government of Kerala, KSEB has continued as Transmission utility and Distribution licensee till 24-09-2008. In exercise of powers conferred under sub-sections (1), (2), (5), (6) and (7) of section 131 of the Electricity Act, 2003, State Government vide the notification G.O (Ms).37/2008/PD dated 25th September, 2008 has vested all functions, properties, interests, rights, obligations and liabilities of KSEB with the State Government till it is re-vested the same in a corporate entity. Accordingly, KSEB has been continuing all the functions as a Generator, State Transmission Utility and a Distribution Licensee in the State.

Over the last fifty years, the Board has grown from a total installed capacity of 109 MW to an installed capacity of 2445 MW and created Transmission and Distribution networks of over 10404 and 272480 circuit kilometers respectively. At present, the Board caters to the needs of 93 lakh  consumers spread over the urban and rural areas of the State. This incremental growth in the power system brought several changes in the characteristics of the system. The input cost structure and revenue  composition have undergone significant changes. Until the recent past, the  hydroelectric plants owned by the Board supplied a major portion of the  energy requirement of the state. However, after the promulgation of the  Forest Conservation Act in 1980, the implementation of new hydroelectric  projects had been seriously affected and more costly thermal energy had to be generated / purchased to meet the increasing demand.

Over the years, the consumption of heavily subsidised domestic sector has been increasing and now, it accounts for approximately 46% of the total energy consumed. As a consequence, the peak demand in the state has  increased to almost twice the off-peak demand. This forced more investment in the power system to meet the peak demand and purchase of  thermal energy from outside the State. But the capacity so created for  meeting the peak demand remains under-utilised during the off-peak periods.  The Board had been supplying electricity at lowest price in the country for  several decades. Because of this the Board had to resort to heavy borrowings to meet the  expenses. Though the Board was statutorily enjoined to function as a commercial  institution, it continued to function mainly with service orientation providing infrastructure facility, reliefs and concessions to other sectors like industry,  agriculture and so on. Now, the State Commission insist upon to perform strictly on commercial considerations.

Generation

The history of Hydropower development in Kerala begins with the commissioning of Pallivasal Hydro Electric Project in 1940. Next few decades saw the progressive developments of various schemes. Sabarigiri in 1966 and Idukki in 1976 are milestones in the endeavor of power development of Kerala State Electricity Board. Read more..


Transmission

Transmission system is an essential link between power stations and load centres for bulk transfer of power and it has a vital role in the management of power. KSEB has pioneered the modern concept of developing a large transmission network for transferring power from power stations to the local load centres. Read more..

Distribution

KSE Board distributes electricity in the State of Kerala except in the Thrissur Municipal Corporation and Munnar (Kannan Devan Hills).  For operational conveniences the distribution wing is divided into three zones namely South, Central and North. Read more..