THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Hinting at the potential purchase of power at higher rates, Electricity Minister Sunny Joseph said that every possible move is being taken from the side of the government to address the ongoing power crisis in the state.
“All efforts are underway to purchase power at lower rates. Discussions are ongoing with NTPC also.... Power is more important, not money,” Sunny said while speaking to the media on Monday.
The minister also said that even though the government will address the liability now, no surety can be given if citizens will have to pay additional cess in the future. “The state government will manage the liability for the time being, but we cannot say that people will not have to bear the burden, neither have we thought about it,” he said.
Continuing the UDF’s criticism at the previous government’s cancellation of power purchase agreement introduced during the tenure of former electricity minister Aryadan Mohammed, Sunny Joseph said that attempts are also being made to reinstate the cancelled agreement. “After receiving the benefits of the power purchase agreement for eight years, (the LDF) took it down.
They should have at least studied the expert committee’s report before the move. Had the agreement not been cancelled, the state would have never faced this issue,” he said.
The minister also turned down the criticisms of lack of preparedness to have caused the crisis.
Responding to questions of the procedural hurdles to procure power at rates as high as Rs 30 per unit, the minister said that this was the main reason why the high-level meeting attended by chief minister, chief secretary, finance secretary was convened, and arrived at this conclusion. While no power cuts were reported in the state on Sunday, KSEB had informed that power cuts would be imposed on Monday between 6.15 pm and 12.45 am, as additional power could not be arranged.
