The Hindu Business Line : Kerala opposes move to take NTPC plant into Central pool

Kerala has opposed the move to take the Kayamkulam plant of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) into the Central pool, which will force it to share the power from there with other States.

The Electricity Minister, Mr A.K. Balan, said here on Friday that the 360 MW plant was set up in 1995 exclusively for meeting the power requirements of Kerala. From 2003 onwards, power from there was being shared with Tamil Nadu, with Kerala drawing 180 MW.

Kerala has so far paid Rs 1,474 crore to NTPC as fixed charge for power from the plant, which was set up at a cost of Rs 1,200 crore.

In the beginning, the power was priced at Rs 2.50 per unit, which subsequently went up to Rs 13 per unit following huge increase in the price of naphtha. The Minister noted that the State had been paying the fixed charge even when it was not using power from the plant in the wake of the unprecedented rise in the cost per unit. Now, when the price of naphtha has come down, States such as Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have put up demand with the Centre for sharing the power from the plant.

The Union Energy Ministry, on its part, has instructed the Southern Regional Power Committee to study the matter and take a decision.

Mr Balan asserted that there was no need for a discussion on sharing power from the plant on which Kerala has complete control. The State would strongly oppose any move to deprive it of its due share, especially at a time when it was going through a severe crisis on the power front, he added.

The Minister pointed out that the power crisis in the State was continuing unabated and there was urgent need to bring down consumption through energy conservation measures. As part of it, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has decided to distribute 10 lakh CF lamps, which will commence from the middle of February.

The lamps will be distributed free of charge to consumers under Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and to below-poverty-line (BPL) consumers belonging to those local self-government bodies that have initiated the measures prescribed by the Total Energy Security Mission.

The lamps thus distributed will have one-year replacement guarantee.

Along with this, an incentive scheme will be implemented for domestic consumers, under which those who reduce the power consumption will be given a CF lamp free of cost. To be eligible for the scheme, the monthly consumption should be reduced by 10 per cent and a minimum of four units.

More Stories on : Power | Kerala | NTPC Ltd

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page