The Hindu : Front Page : Steps taken to ensure foolproof power supply in Sabarimala: Balan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 12, 2007
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Steps taken to ensure foolproof power supply in Sabarimala: Balan

Special Correspondent

KSEB has drawn new transmission lines to the region to avoid complaints

KSEB will post more employees this year to attend to problems
KERC will decide whether there should be a power tariff hike

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Extra precautions are being taken by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) ahead of the upcoming pilgrim season to ensure foolproof power supply in the Sabarimala region, Electricity Minister A.K. Balan has said.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, the Minister said the KSEB, besides installing several new transformers in and around Sabarimala, had drawn new transmission lines to the region to avoid complaints about power supply during the Mandala Puja-Makaravilakku season.

More streetlamps

Six thousand streetlamps would light up the forest trek paths to the Ayyappa temple, he said.

This time the KSEB would also post more employees than in the previous years to attend to problems with the power supply. The KSEB would be fully alert all through the season, Mr. Balan promised.

Answering a question, he said it was up to Kerala Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) to decide whether there should be a hike in power tariff. As mandated by the Electricity Act of 2003, the KSEB had submitted in advance the details of its expected revenue receipts and expenses for the current financial year to the KERC.

He said that the KSEB had also given the KERC its proposal on how to bridge the revenue gap anticipated. The KERC, on its part, had finished public hearings on the proposal, but its decision was pending. (The KSEB’s proposal is for a hike in power tariff for certain sections of non-domestic customers.)

Answering another question, the Minister said various government departments and institutions owed the KSEB over Rs.750 crore towards power supplied. The payment dues had been mounting over the last several years. The Cabinet had set up a committee with Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac as its head to find ways to enable the KSEB recover these dues.

Mr. Balan said the KSEB was required to function as a self-sustaining institution. Its financial health was important for all sectors.

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