Delays have hit the commissioning of a clutch of hydroelectric projects which could have helped Kerala tackle the soaring demand for electricity this summer.
Topping this list are the 60 megawatt (MW) Pallivasal Extension Scheme and the 40 MW Thottiyar scheme in Idukki district and the 24 MW Bhoothathankettu project in Ernakulam district, all of which have overshot their deadlines by several years. Although work on these projects has entered the final stages, administrative issues are holding back their completion, sources said.
At a meeting with Electricity Minister K. Krishnankutty on Wednesday, the KSEB unions had sought urgent steps to get the projects commissioned at the earliest.
The Pallivasal Extension Scheme has been on the KSEB wishlist since 2007 when work was initially awarded to the ESSAR-DEC-CPPL consortium. Under that agreement, the project should have been commissioned in 2011. But the contract was terminated in 2018 following problems related to machinery, geological issues, and personnel. A new contractor was hired to complete the installation of machinery, but delays continued to haunt this project. As per the latest KSEB update, 86.28% of the work on the ₹459.61 crore project is over.
The KSEB had accorded administrative sanction for constructing the Bhoothathankettu project in October 2013 at a cost of ₹231.21 crore. Civil works kicked off in 2014 and the electromechanical works the following year. The original deadline set for commissioning this project was February 14, 2016. As per the latest updates from the KSEB, 98.52% of the work has been completed.
In 2022, Mr. Krishnankutty had listed these two projects among four hydel projects that were due for commissioning that year, but that did not happen.
Another project that has overshot its commissioning deadline is the 40 MW Thottiyar scheme in Idukki district. According to the KSEB, 93.29% of the work on this project is over. The ₹280-crore project also has had a chequered history, and is still awaiting commissioning.
Other projects on which work is in progress include the 24 MW Chinnar small hydro project (scheduled for commissioning in July this year) and the 40 MW Mankulam hydel project, which is due in May 2026.
