THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Dr B Ashok, who is stepping down as KSEB chairman, said that he had expected action against him during a year full of protests and controversies. He said that the action against him was just a normal practice in the government system. Despite the controversies, he is happy that he was able to bring profit to the KSEB while stepping down.

Dr B Ashok took charge as KSEB CMD on July 16 last year. At that time, KSEB was running at a loss of crores. Rs 269.55 crore loss in 2019-20, increased to Rs 1822.35 crore in 2020-21. The cumulative loss reached 12164.43 crores. From this situation, KSEB went on to achieve an operating profit of Rs 1417 crore within a year. Dr Ashok considers this a remarkable achievement.

"Although there were many controversies, a year of achievements was created. It was the Power Department that shone in the list of achievements in the first year of the second Pinarayi government. It was proved that if we try, the public sector can become profitable, and industries can grow in Kerala too if the conditions are right," Ashok said.

"Many stalled projects were completed and many new projects were initiated to maximize domestic energy production. An additional capacity of 173 MW was achieved on the generation front. The board was also able to achieve 142.66MW solar power generation capacity from the roofs in Kerala. A jump of 124 MW was initiated in the field of hydropower generation," he said.

"KSEB has launched 65 electric cars as part of the Kerala government's e-mobility policy. 27 electric vehicle fast charging stations have also been constructed across Kerala. Apart from this, the installation of 1140 pole-mounted charging stations for two-wheelers and three-wheelers is in progress. Of these, 200 have started operations. Within a year, KSEB has received many awards at the national level in recognition of its efficient operations," he added.