THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Citing the difference in technical terms, Power Minister K Krishnankutty on Wednesday commented that the upcoming power cuts in the state are power tripping off, and not loadshedding.
“When overusage of power happens, tripping off will take place. This cannot be called loadshedding,” the minister said in a press meet held here on Wednesday.
Terming climatic shift as the root cause of the ongoing power crisis, Krishnankutty also added that the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission is responsible for the delay in purchase of power.
Mentioning that the power crisis came as an unexpected blow, the minister said that this should not be used to allege that no developments were made during the course of the Left government.
“One should not blame that we didn’t do a thing for power production. The hydel project was having only 20 megawatt capacity, which has now been raised to 175 megawatt. All of this was done anticipating a surge. Did anyone expect such a heat wave, or that the crisis in the Middle East would happen?” he said.
The minister also commented that the increased use of electric vehicles and people’s shift to induction cookers following the LPG crisis also accelerated the current scenario.
In a controversial take, the minister also criticised that environmentalists obstruct major development projects in the state. “When we somehow get a nod for a dam, one person will come wearing a bag. If they say that it will be difficult for birds to fly because of this, won’t all the media and controversy be behind it?” the minister told the media.
Mentioning that Kerala buys 70% power from outside the state, he also commented that projects like Pooyamkutty had to be stalled due to such interventions. Attacking the media, he also commented that the press creates unwanted concerns by amplifying such issues.