KOCHI: Indecision over the tariff for power to be produced from the waste-to-energy plant at Brahmapuram prevails as the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission is waiting to hear from the Kochi Corporation. On their part, the civic authorities maintained that they had submitted the details as demanded by the commission.
Though the project, which is aimed at generating power from waste collected from the corporation and adjoining municipalities, does not require the clearance of the Commission, the Kochi Corporation would require the approval of the Commission to decide on the price of power to be generated. The plan is to sell excess power from the plant to the State grid.
If not for approval of the regulatory body, the option available before the corporation to decide on the power tariff is to fix the price on par with the purchase rate of the Kerala State Electricity Board. Since the tariff of the power from the plant will be higher than the purchase rate of the KSEB, the corporation will have to go by the instructions of the regulatory commission.
If the commission has to consider the rate, the local body, which commissioned the agency for setting up the plant, should justify the rate including the process of production of power. If convinced, the regularity agency will clear the tariff, sources said.
According to commission sources, the corporation has not responded to queries which were raised some six months ago. The commission’s formal demand for the statement has failed to evoke any response. It was at a sitting held in Kochi that the commission asked the local body to explain its position, sources said.
At the same time, V.K. Minimol, chairperson of the Health Standing Committee of the Kochi Corporation said the local body had furnished details as demanded by the regulatory authority some three months ago. The civic authority had also remitted the prescribed fee for the purpose, she said.
The corporation had tapped the corporate social responsibility fund of a public sector company for the viability gap fund regarding the power charges.
