Kerala government to ask regulatory panel to revive power-purchase pact
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state cabinet has taken a crucial decision to ask the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) to revoke the cancelled 450 MW Power Purchase Agreement. The step has been initiated by the cabinet in accordance with Section 108 of the KSERC, which allows the commission to make policy decisions.
The regulatory commission had cancelled the 465 MW PPA in May citing procedural and technical lapses. But now the LDF government is forced to take such a move in the wake of the acute power crisis. The KSEB couldn’t cope up with the sudden loss of 465 MW power. The weak monsoon also added to its woes. It saw Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan blaming the KSERC on the floor of the Assembly for the power crisis.
After the chief secretary-level talks on ways to take up mitigating measures to revoke the cancelled PPA, the law department advised the high-level committee to invoke Section 108 of the regulatory commission which allows it to make policy decisions.
A top power department official told TNIE that, with the cabinet deciding to urge the KSERC to revoke the cancelled PPA, the board can approach it with a plea to renew the PPA “The board had approached the appellate tribunal of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission. Now the state government will also join the case as a party. The board did not get an emergency stay order. It may take another two to three months to revive the cancelled PPA, provided the three power companies also agree to provide power to the KSEB,” said a power department official.
If everything falls in place, the board will start receiving power at Rs 3.50 – Rs 4.29 for the remaining 18 years from Jhabua Power Limited, Jindal Power Limited and Jindal Thermal Power Limited. It was during the tenure of the first Oommen Chandy- led UDF government that the then power minister Aryadan Muhammed initiated a long-term PPA for 25 years. This PPA had helped the board not to impose load shedding or power cuts all these years.
Following the burgeoning power crisis, the board was forced to go for long-term, short- term and swapping PPAs which saw exorbitant rates being quoted by power companies that took part in the tendering process. Now during peak hours, after 6 pm, the board is providing power at over Rs 10 per unit of power to consumers.
