The Hindu Business Line : Centre's nod for power projects worth Rs 1,350 cr in Kerala

Priority would be given to electrification of hilly and coastal areas in the State under the scheme, the Electricity Minister, Mr Aryadan Mohammed, told newspersons here on Thursday.

Besides, the Centre has sanctioned Rs 95 crore to the State under the "Rural Electrification District Backbone" project.

The Minister said that various projects costing a total of Rs 905 crore were being implemented in the State under the Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (APDRP).

The expenditure under the programme would be financed by way of 25 per cent grant and 25 per cent soft loan. The remaining 50 per cent would be in the form of loans from various financial institutions.

He said all these projects would be taken up for implementation by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) in a "mission mode" and completed within two years.

The Centre has also approved a Rs 139-crore scheme for providing uninterrupted power supply to the Capital city.

A similar scheme worth Rs 149 crore is also being worked out for Kochi where a host of projects such as Smart City, Vallarpadam container terminal and LNG terminal are coming up.

The Minister said that there was no need for load-shedding this year.

The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) had already sanctioned 110 MW to the State from its eastern grid and the corporation's response had been favourable to the request for an additional 70 MW, he said.

The Minister also ruled out any immediate hike in power tariffs.

He said strong measures were being taken to curtail transmission losses, which had come down from 32 per cent three years ago to 26 per cent now.

If the transmission losses could be brought down by just one per cent, it would result in a gain of Rs 50 crore a year for the board, he added.

KSEB had been able to bring down its revenue deficit to Rs 450 crore last year from Rs 1,007 crore in 2003-04. Also, it could reduce its total debt liability to Rs 4,541.46 crore from Rs 5,355.65 crore in 2001-02.

KSEB had provided 5.48 lakh new connections last year, of which more than one lakh connections were given free to those below the poverty line.

The board was nearing its target of providing connections to all by 2007, the Minister said.

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