A political row has broken out in Keralam over the state government’s decision to buy electricity through a private power trading platform. Senior CPI(M) leader P Rajeev said that the arrangement could lead to heavy financial losses for the state and asked how the government was able to proceed with the agreement.
Rajeev made the allegations today and said Chief Minister V D Satheesan was hiding facts about power procurement arrangement proposed by him. The issue is that government chose to buy electricity through General Network Access (GNA) instead of Himachal Pradesh proposal.
P Rajeev Questions Private Power Purchase Decision
Speaking to reporters Rajeev alleged that buying electricity through the private trading platform could lead to huge corruption and financial losses.
He asked why the government was going ahead with the agreement without properly assessing the financial implications. Rajeev said state could lose because it may have to buy electricity even during non peak hours (when its own generation is more than demand) but cannot sell it then.
He said Keralam already gives up excess electricity generated during certain hours. Buying more power at those hours could force the state to give up or sell that surplus electricity at a lower price.
Disagreement Over GNA and Himachal Pradesh Proposals
The controversy is about two electricity procurement proposals.
The Himachal Pradesh proposal gave electricity at ₹14.50 per unit through PTC and GNA Energy offered rates of ₹8.63 and ₹8.90 per unit respectively.
Chief Minister V D Satheesan had defended GNA arrangement earlier saying that if the Himachal Pradesh proposal was selected then the state would have borne an additional burden of about ₹2,232 crore.
However Rajeev disputed the calculation of the government and said that the comparison did not take into account the availability of excess electricity during non peak hours.
Rajeev Claims Himachal Proposal Could Save Money
Rajeev said the Himachal Pradesh proposal was about supplying electricity only during peak-demand hours (not throughout the day).
He said Keralam could sell its excess daytime electricity at about ₹2.50 per unit and buy power from Himachal Pradesh at ₹14.50 per unit during peak hours.
If you do the maths on this, it could still save the state ₹250 crore: he says.
He said his argument was based on a letter sent by former Kerala State Electricity Board chairman M G Rajamanickam to government.
Chief Minister Defends Government's Decision
Satheesan has denied the criticism and said that GNA arrangement was chosen after comparing all proposals.
He said the private platform charged electricity at much lower rates and gave more power (including during peak demand hours).
The Chief Minister also said that previous governments had purchased electricity from private companies like GNA, Jindal and Adani.
He said the government had chosen the option which would reduce financial burden on the state but meet electricity requirement.
Power Procurement Row Raises Questions
The dispute has put electricity procurement and financial management into the political spotlight in Keralam.
The debate is about electricity prices, peak hour demand, surplus power management and transparency of government decisions.
While Rajeev has raised losses, the Chief Minister says the private platform is cheaper.
The financial cost of the agreement and how well the state can control electricity demand will therefore be at the heart of the debate. The procurement terms need to be scrutinised again and the calculations made by both sides need to be checked to see what is actually being spent on and what is being gained.
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