Thiruvananthapuram: Electricity minister Sunny Joseph said on Saturday that govt was exploring all options to procure additional power from other states to avert a fresh spell of load shedding.Govt was in touch with various states to source power, but its availability and high cost were major impediments, he said. Joseph expressed hope that market prices would decline in the coming days, enabling Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to buy power at competitive rates. Chief minister V D Satheesan was directly involved in exploring options with other states, he added.Meanwhile, senior KSEB officials said the availability of high-cost power from Himachal Pradesh, priced at Rs 14.50 per unit, was uncertain after Oct 31. Though Himachal had offered up to 1,000 MW until May 2027, the state govt was not in favour of buying power at such a high rate.As the board has not received govt’s permission, it cannot continue purchasing power from Himachal, officials said. Such a decision could later put them in a difficult position while seeking approval from the state electricity regulatory commission.KSEB is currently hopeful of meeting the shortfall of 700-800 MW through the power exchange. “The availability of power in the exchange has improved over the past two days. If temperatures in north Indian states continue to fall, availability in the day-ahead market could improve further,” sources said.Power from the exchange would cost around Rs 10 per unit, the ceiling fixed by govt for the day-ahead market. However, reliance on the market means continued uncertainty over daily power restrictions. KSEB may have to regulate demand according to availability and warn consumers a day in advance about possible restrictions, sources said.
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