The Kerala State Electricity Board, in a bid to reduce electricity cost, has started drawing heavily on low-cost power from the central grid and switched off all its thermal stations after May 1, besides stopping taking power from private sector power companies such as BSES Kerala Power Ltd. Senior KSEB sources told that after May 1, water levels in the reservoirs of all hydel projects had gone up following incessant summer showers, to generate an additional 50 million units (MUs). Besides, power consumption had also dropped to around 30 MUs per day from 37 MUs. In fact, showers in the entire southern peninsula had also led to a load crash in the region resulting in increased availability of power from the central grid.