Kerala will not face power shortage for next two months; govt suspects crisis was deliberately created

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala government has said that the state will not face a power crisis over the next two months. KSEB Chairman N Prasanth and the Energy Secretary met Chief Minister V D Satheesan and informed him that there is currently no need to purchase electricity from outside the state during this period.

With no power shortage expected, the government has decided not to enter into a new short-term Green Energy Open Access (GNA) agreement for the time being. The earlier decision to purchase 500 MW of electricity through GNA without transparent tender procedures or prior approval from the State Electricity Regulatory Commission had triggered a controversy. The latest decision comes in this backdrop.

The government now suspects that reports of a power shortage in the state may have been deliberately created despite there being no actual crisis. The Chief Minister has also directed officials to examine the circumstances under which former KSEB Chairman Rajamanikyam issued a note warning of a power shortage.

Rajamanikyam had stated that a power cut would be unavoidable unless a power purchase agreement was finalised immediately. The government will examine the reasons behind the pressure to take an urgent decision. The Chief Minister is also learnt to have questioned why the state was being urged to purchase electricity from Himachal Pradesh if there was no shortage.