Thiruvananthapuram: On Friday, chief minister V D Satheesan rejected opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan’s allegations on power purchase, including his remark that the CM’s role was mysterious, as factually incorrect.Replying to Vijayan’s claim that Himachal Pradesh had reduced its offer from Rs 14.5/unit to Rs 12.5/unit, the chief minister’s office (CMO) issued a statement that no such assurance was given to KSEB. It cited an Oct 29 note by former KSEB CMD MG Rajamanickam, whom Vijayan had called a capable officer. The note said the Rs 12.5/unit shall not be treated as confirmed unless the competent authority in Himachal approved it. The CMO asked where Vijayan got a proposal that KSEB itself had not received and asked him to release it.The Himachal deal came through PTC – an intermediary – and its Rs 14.5/unit rate included the firm’s margin, said the CMO. It said Rajasthan board had approved buying Himachal’s power on Oct 17 and asked how power committed to Rajasthan at Rs 15.5/unit could go to Kerala at Rs 12.5/unit.Defending the choice of GNA Energy, the CMO cited the CMD’s note. GNA Energy will supply 385 million units more than the Himachal deal in non-solar hours. In the Dec-March evening peak (6.30-10.30 pm), Himachal’s average supply would be far below GNA Energy’s 500MW. Himachal’s rate exceeded the cap of Rs 10/unit fixed by the regulatory commission. With market power at Rs 5/unit, GNA Energy’s premium will be Rs 3.5/unit against Himachal’s Rs 9.5/unit. GNA Energy’s daytime power will allow the state to conserve hydro-generation for summer, it said.KSEB told govt that six competitive tenders on DEEP portal failed to secure the required power and sought an urgent decision to avoid prolonged cuts. Kerala imposed cuts in Sept and avoided them in Oct through purchases from other states and public sector firms, the CMO said.The power minister sent the file to CM seeking his nod, so he was not overridden, said the CMO. It said when Vijayan was CM, he bought power from GNA Energy several times and offered to share the figures. It said his govt cancelled UDF’s 25-year contract at Rs 4.29/unit after eight years and later bought power from private agencies at Rs 8-14/unit.
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