KOZHIKODE: The power purchase bill of Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) per annum is more than Rs 8,500 crore. The cumulative debt of the board as of February 1 was Rs 9,360 crore and its interest alone would come up to Rs 1,900 crore per annum.
In such a grim financial scenario, small hydroelectric projects (SHEPs), which have less environmental impact, and low maintenance and establishment cost, can play a vital role in state’s electricity production.
Around 85 such potential small hydroelectric projects of over 700MW capacity have been identified across the state. A large chunk of these have been on hold due to reasons like feasibility issues, land acquisition problems, lack of permission from the Forest and Environment Department and so on.
In August 2020, a division bench of Chief Justice S Manikumar and Justice Shaji P Chaly of the High Court had issued a directive to KSEB to complete the pending hydroelectric projects within the prescribed time period.
“The SHEPs do not require construction of a dam or reservoir. Hence, they do not affect the environment adversely,” said Jacob, who is also the author of ‘Tunnel@Pallivasal’.Even after the High Court issued an order to complete the construction by November 30, 2020, the Upper Kallar hydroelectric project has been delayed.
Meanwhile, KSEB told TNIE that the figure of 85 SHEPs is only potential projects and many of them have not even reached the primary project stage. “There is a scope for many such small hydel projects in the state. The list will keep on changing. And 90 per cent of them are not feasible,” said KSEB chairman N S Pillai.