Kerala’s proposed 500 MW power purchase agreement could impose an additional burden of ₹727 crore on the state exchequer, Opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan has alleged, questioning the tariff, regulatory approval and the government’s decision to proceed with a private supplier.
In a statement reported by the Times of India, Vijayan said the government was planning to purchase electricity from a private company at ₹8.63 per unit without approval from the regulatory commission. He claimed the state could have procured power at a lower cost and questioned the decision to buy electricity during daytime hours, when demand is not high.
The proposed arrangement has become a point of contention over how Kerala manages electricity shortages, supplier selection and the financial exposure of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB). Vijayan alleged that a public sector power company in Himachal Pradesh had agreed to supply electricity, but that the government delayed responding to the offer, allowing the private company to secure the proposed deal.
He also alleged that KSEB officials who opposed the arrangement were transferred to facilitate the agreement. According to Vijayan, the chief minister’s office intervened and pressured officials to proceed despite objections from the board and the power minister. These claims were made in his statement and were not accompanied in the report by the release of the relevant KSEB files or dissent notes.
The dispute also raises questions about the approval process for large power purchases. Vijayan said the proposed agreement was being advanced without the regulatory commission’s approval, while the government had earlier indicated that additional electricity would be procured from public sector companies. He alleged that the present power crisis was being used to justify a transaction that would cause substantial losses to the state.
The proposed purchase would add 500 MW to Kerala’s power procurement arrangements, although the report did not provide the agreement’s duration, the total contracted value, the identity of the private supplier or the regulatory commission’s position. It also did not specify the lower tariff at which, according to Vijayan, electricity could have been obtained from another source.
Vijayan has demanded the immediate publication of all files connected with the proposed power purchase agreement, including dissent notes submitted by KSEB officials. The release of those documents would establish the competing offers, the basis for the ₹8.63-per-unit tariff, the approvals sought and the reasons for selecting the proposed private supplier.
