The Kerala government had the best interests of the people at heart in deciding to recommend the restoration of the four ‘unapproved’ long-term power supply contracts totalling 465 MW, Electricity Minister K. Krishnankutty said on October 12. A transparent process was followed to arrive at the decision, he said.
Countering the corruption charges levelled by the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF), Mr. Krishnankutty said the October 4 Cabinet decision was aimed at avoiding the huge financial liability that Kerala would have incurred in replacing the cheaper power supplied under the ‘unapproved’ contracts with costlier power purchases at current rates.
The Cabinet decided to invoke Section 108 of the Electricity Act and recommend the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) to re-examine its decision not to approve the contracts so as to avert a power supply crisis and the consequent hardship to the public, said Mr. Krishnankutty. The government was also particular that the public should not incur any financial burden on account of the lapses made by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) when inking the power supply agreements, he said.
The commission had earlier declined to approve four agreements inked under the Design, Build, Finance, Own and Operate (DBFOO) mode citing deviations from Central government norms.
Conspiracy alleged
Following the Cabinet decision to urge the commission to restore the clutch of agreements entered into by the KSEB, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan had alleged conspiracy by the Kerala government and the commission in the original decision to scrap the contracts which were signed during the UDF rule in 2014. He had also hinted at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s involvement in it.
Following the commission’s May 10 order rejecting its plea to approve the agreements, the KSEB had approached the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL). An appeal petition filed by the KSEB against the commission’s order is still pending before the APTEL, the Minister said.
After the KSEB had requested its intervention to get the agreements restored, the Kerala government formed a committee headed by the Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) to study the issue. The committee advised against cancelling the agreements. Eventually, the Cabinet arrived at its decision based on the recommendation of the Chief Secretary who examined the opinions given by the Law Secretary, the Advocate General, the Power department and the chairman, KSEB, said Mr. Krishnankutty.
