Thiruvananthapuram, Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday alleged that the power crisis in Keralam was artificially created to facilitate an electricity purchase deal through GNA Energy, raising suspicions of corruption behind the agreement.
“There is no reason to say that Keralam is facing an electricity shortage. The CPI veteran alleged that the chief minister had decided to go ahead with the power purchase agreement despite objections from the KSEB and the Electricity Department, without following normal administrative procedures or discussing the matter in the Cabinet. Addressing a press conference here, Vijayan questioned the state government’s decision to purchase 500 MW of electricity through GNA Energy instead of procuring power under the revised offer from Himachal Pradesh. Chief Minister V D Satheesan had earlier said that one proposal was to procure electricity from Himachal Pradesh at ₹ 14.50 per unit through Power Trading Corporation India Ltd, while GNA Energy had offered power at ₹ 8.63 and ₹ 8.90 per unit.
This is an artificially created shortage,” the former chief minister said. He said the circumstances surrounding the agreement raised serious suspicions and demanded that the government release all files and documents relating to the deal. He said transparent procedures, including competitive tenders, should have been followed for electricity purchases and questioned why the chief minister had directly intervened in a deal involving a platform that did not generate power. Vijayan said the KSEB had officially informed the government that the proposed arrangement would cause financial losses. He said power swapping was a regular practice in electricity transactions and GNA Energy had been involved in such arrangements during the LDF government’s tenure as well. However, the only payment made to the platform was the service charge approved by the regulatory commission, he said.
