Ulterior motive in UDF govt. push for power purchases from private trading platform overriding KSEB objection: Elamaram Kareem
The KSEB had calculated that the purchase 500 MW electricity from GNA Energy OTC platform at ₹8.63 per unit would entail an additional financial liability of ₹727 crore, as per CPI(M) leader Elamaram Kareem.
The Electricity Employees’ Federation of India (EEFI) has called for an independent investigation into the Kerala United Democratic Front (UDF) government's push for purchasing electricity from a private trading platform, despite the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) expressing reservations. According to EEFI national president and senior CPI(M) leader Elamaram Kareem, the state government's plan to acquire 500 MW of electricity from the GNA Energy over-the-counter platform at ₹8.63 per unit would result in an additional financial burden of ₹727 crore, as calculated by the KSEB.
Kareem alleged that the UDF government disregarded KSEB's objections, with the Electricity Minister Sunny Joseph initially supporting the KSEB's position before being overruled. He also expressed concern over the delay in issuing a work order for the Phase II roll-out of smart electricity meters, which is set to expire on November 11.
Kareem pointed out that the lowest-quoted bid was already cleared by the KSEB for the Phase II implementation covering 50 lakh consumers under capital expenditure mode, suggesting a possible attempt to undermine the cost-effective CAPEX model for providing smart meter services to the people of Kerala.
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