Thiruvananthapuram: The Electricity Employees’ Federation of India (EEFI) has raised a few questions with chief minister V D Satheesan over the GNA power purchase offer, alleging that the deal is shrouded in secrecy and govt has shown undue interest in it.EEFI convener (research and development) M G Suresh Kumar raised the questions after the chief minister defended the deal at the post-cabinet briefing on Wednesday.Challenging the chief minister’s claim that former KSEB CMD Rajamanickam had not opposed the proposal, Suresh Kumar asked what happened to KSEB reports warning govt of possible losses, and who suppressed them. He demanded the immediate release of the complete GNA file, including Rajamanickam’s notes.Suresh Kumar said the KSEB chief engineer had reported that the Himachal Pradesh arrangement could provide 864 to 1,280 MW during peak hours, against 500 MW from GNA. He asked which document supported the chief minister’s claim that GNA would provide more peak power.He disputed the claim that choosing the Himachal offer over GNA would impose an additional liability of more than Rs 2,000 crore. KSEB had put the Himachal arrangement’s cost at Rs 1,105 crore, rising to Rs 1,281 crore even at Rs 14.50 per unit, he said. GNA’s cost, plus the extra peak-hour purchases it would necessitate, would exceed Rs 2,000 crore, he added, asking how GNA could be called profitable and the Himachal option loss-making.Citing the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission’s assessment, Suresh Kumar said the state was not facing the acute power crisis govt claimed, and questioned its eagerness to buy more power.He also questioned the legality of GNA’s Rs 8.63-per-unit tariff, saying Sections 62 and 63 of the Electricity Act require prices to be set through a tender or a process approved by the regulatory commission. Citing court rulings, he challenged the proposed use of Section 108 to issue policy directions.GNA, he said, was neither a generator nor a licensed trader but an over-the-counter (OTC) digital platform. He sought details of the actual generator and its legal authority to sell power. With no tender, no prior regulatory approval and KSEB opposing the deal over potential losses, he asked why the chief minister had personally defended it.He also sought clarification on reports that GNA OTC was facing investigation and action by the central regulatory commission over alleged misuse of its internal documents.
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