THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Cornered by the Opposition parties over the proposed power purchase deal with GNA Energy and apprehensive that it may not secure the State Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (SERC) approval, the UDF government appears to be exploring a face-saving exit. In what appears to be an attempt to justify backing away from the 500-MW deal, government sources have floated a purported KSEB assessment that the state would not face a power shortage in the coming months — a position that the board’s top officials have not confirmed.
A KSEB top source said the board’s official demand forecast continued to project a power deficit of around 865 MW in November and a similar shortfall in December. This is at odds with media reports that the KSEB top brass had told the government that the power situation would remain manageable in the coming months and that fresh purchase deals were unnecessary. KSEB officials declined to comment on the reports.
However, officials pointed out that GNA proposal could face serious regulatory hurdles as the purchase was being pursued without a competitive tender. The regulatory commission was unlikely to approve such a deal in the absence of a tender, they said, adding that existing rules did not provide for procurement in this manner.
Citing an earlier power purchase case, sources said the commission was unlikely to overlook procedural concerns in a deal of this scale. “The alternative proposal from Himachal Pradesh, routed through PTC India, could have also faced questions over the absence of a tender. However, its government-to-government nature might offer a possible justification,” the source said.
‘Current power availability in real-time market not dependable’
On the projected shortage, the source said current availability of electricity in the real-time market, largely due to winter conditions in north India and increased generation from coal-based plants, could not be treated as dependable.
The source pointed to October, when demand rose to around 5,500 MW against the projected 4,500-4,600 MW, forcing the KSEB to resort to load shedding after it failed to procure sufficient power from the real-time market.
The KSEB top management and Electricity Minister Sunny Joseph were reportedly in favour of the Himachal Pradesh proposal, which offered a supply profile better suited to peak-hour demand and extended into the summer months. However, Chief Minister V D Satheesan defended the GNA deal, arguing that its quoted tariff would save the state around Rs 2,232 crore compared with the Himachal offer.
