After several postponements, the Kerala State Electricity Board is set to sign an agreement with the Indian arm of Finnish company Wartsila for a 40-MW, LNG-fired power plant at Brahmapuram near here on October 31.
The Electricity Board had initially decided to sign the agreement at the end of August. The signing was then put off for the end of September. However, the deadline was not met after the High Court of Kerala stayed the re-tendering of the sale of scrap from two diesel generation units at the project site that were identified to be dismantled. The removal of the remains of the dismantled generation units is needed to begin work at the project site. KSEB sources said the date had now been fixed and the final vetting of the agreement was in progress.
The project involves replacing two of the five existing diesel generation units at Brahmapuram. The five units have a combined capacity of 105 MW.
However, KSEB sources said the generation units were not frequently used now as the State was now also sourcing power from other States to meet its demands.
Brahmapuram will be the Electricity Board’s first natural gas-fired power plant. The cost of the project is approximately Rs.100 crore. The project is expected to be completed within 14 months of signing of the agreement.
