THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The central government has extended the permission for thermal power plants to charge additional prices for electricity sold for emergency purposes on the open exchange till June 30 next year.

Up to Rs 40 per unit will have to be paid. This will have to be paid by customers as cess. Even last month, KSEB spent Rs 29.25 crore to purchase electricity from the open exchange. This type of purchase is made when nighttime consumption increases and electricity shortages are faced.

Exemption from price controls is for power plants using imported coal. The current exemption was due to expire on September 30. No more than Rs 12 per unit can be charged if price controls are implemented.

The state is facing a power deficit of 500 to 1,500 MW after the monsoon did not arrive as expected and the Regulatory Commission cancelled 465 MW of long-term contracts due to irregularities. Although the state government has decided to restore the long-term contracts, the process has not been completed. The reason is that there is a case in the Central Electricity Appellate Tribunal. The case will be considered on the 30th and only after that the proceedings can be started. Although KSEB has moved for short-term contracts and swap contracts for borrowing power during power emergencies, the process has not been completed. The dams hold only 59 percent water. There is a deficit of 916 million units of electricity compared to last year.

More demand nationally too

The central government says that the reason for relaxing the price control is due to the surge in electricity consumption at the national level. Thermal plants using imported coal have been ordered to operate 24 hours a day. Permission was given to increase the price of electricity in lieu of that. Currently, there is a record consumption of 234 GW, but there is a deficit of 9.11 GW.

Big companies including Adani benefit

It has been argued that the relaxation of price controls favours large industrial groups like Adani. Large groups including Adani import coal from Indonesia to operate thermal plants and supply coal to other thermal plants. It is alleged that coal is bought for $1.9 million and sold in India for $4.3 million. Electricity will also be charged higher. DRI had investigated around 40 companies between 2011 and 2015, including the Anil Ambani Group and Essar Group entities, for alleged corruption of Rs 29,000 crore in coal imports.