In his latest stand against the LDF government in Kerala, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala accused the state government of corruption in the electricity market. He alleged that the government had paved the way for Adani to exploit the people of Kerala for the next 25 years. He added that the government tied up with BJP for buying 300 MW units of electricity from Adani for higher than normal prices. According to reports, Adani is poised to earn at least Rs 1,000 Crore as profit in this Rs 8,765 Crore deal, which will be an additional burden on the people.
“The government is making a deal with Adani to procure electricity at a very high rate, at a time when the average price of electricity, as well as global rate, is coming down. The state and central government are equally responsible in this deal,” said Ramesh Chennithala. “Why procure electricity at Rs 2.82 per unit when we could have gotten it at Rs 1 per unit. When the centre gave the tender to Adani, why did the state government agree to it? The state government and KSEB chose wind energy as their green source requirement since Adani Green Energy was the only group engaged in wind energy production,” said Ramesh.
According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Kerala has a wind potential of 1,699 MW but its infrastructure to tap into the potential is minimal. Currently, the state has the infrastructure to produce only 62 MW of energy through wind source. Despite the claims of wind being an unreliable source, the state could deliver more into the infrastructure thereby creating self-reliance and jobs. However, the unreliable nature of wind also doesn’t agree with giving such a large order to the Adani group.
Alleging that there is a tie-up between Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Adani, the Opposition Leader said that the government must clarify why they procured electricity at exorbitant rates when we had other sources such as solar and small-scale electricity production networks. He also said that the government must cancel the power purchase agreement. On the other hand, Pinarayi Vijayan said that the leader of the opposition is trying to bring down the dealings of the KSEB. All he said was that all of KSEB’s agreements are available on their website.
