Thiruvananthapuram: For the moment, Kerala will not feel the heat of the looming power crisis.
The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) has greenlighted the options submitted by Kerala State Electricity Board Limited (KSEBL) to make up for the shortage of power.
One, extend the grace period that allowed the KSEBL to secure power from four long-term contracts that were annulled by the KSERC in May 10.
The four long-term contracts, struck during the 2016-17 period, together were worth 465 MW; 115MW and 100 MW from Jhabua Power, and 150 MW and 100 MW from Jindal Power.
The KSERC had rejected these power supply deals on the grounds that they deviated from established guidelines. However, considering the grim power situation, a grace period of 75 days was granted. This ended on April 21. Hence, the KSEBL request for extension. Now, KSERC has extended the grace period till December 31st.
Two, secure 500 MW from other states through a swap arrangement. The power will have to be returned at a later date. Being a swap arrangement, the cost would be reasonable. Nonetheless, it is still not clear whether any state is holding on to surplus power.
Three, purchase 200 MW on an emergency basis from power traders at reigning market costs. The per unit cost of such power would be upwards of Rs 10. More of such purchases will widen KSEBL's revenue gap, thus imbuing KSEBL's demand for tariff revision a justifiable urgency.
The options were discussed at a review meeting conducted by electricity minister K Krishnankutty in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday. The government, in turn, passed on a note to the KSERC seconding the options submitted by the KSEBL.
Though the KSERC had annulled the long-term contracts, there is a provision in the Kerala Electricity Act that gives a state government the last word in matters related to public interest. Section 108 of the Act states that the KSERC will be "guided" by the directions given by a state government in "matters of policy involving public interest".
However, top sources in the government said that the note was not given under Section 108. Had the KSERC disapproved of the KSEBL options that were seconded by the government, the government would have invoked Section 108 of the Kerala Electricity Act.
Load-shedding is still kept as a last resort. A decision on such an extreme step would be taken only after the power minister holds a discussion with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on August 24.
At the moment, in the middle of a dry monsoon season, KSEBL is forced to purchase between 60 to 65 million units of power daily from outside. This is more than double the outside purchases KSEBL traditionally makes during the month of August.
