The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is considering building a second power station in Idukki to generate 800 MW of power, Minister for Power M.M. Mani has said.
Inaugurating an unmanned 66 KV GIS substation at Tripunithura here on Saturday, the Minister said the aim was to make the State self-sufficient in power generation. Inspections were under way for the project which would come up parallel to the existing power station. Measures would be taken to increase efficiency of power generation and distribution. It was as part of this that the State had launched its first unmanned substation, Mr. Mani said.
The State government will take steps to generate 1,000 MW solar power. Of this, 500 MW would be from atop houses and the rest from panels placed in dams and other places. A total of 40,000 people had registered for the initiative to (set apart terrace space) generate solar power.
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He said that dams played a part in lessening the impact of the deluge that the State witnessed in August 2018 and cited a report on this by Central Water Commission. The commission had further recommended setting up of dams at Achankovil and Meenachil.
The KSEB suffered damage worth ₹820 crore in the deluge. Employees of the board deserved credit for restoring power supply within 10 days after the extensive flooding. He lauded workers for completing the unmanned substation before the deadline. Good service entry would be given to those who played a commendable role in this, he said.
The ₹21.75 crore gas insulated substation was built in the land provided by MILMA. It will be controlled from the 110-KV Vyttila substation. A sum of ₹35.74 crore had been set apart to improve power supply in Tripunithura.
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K.V. Thomas, MP, sought cooperation of the public to complete projects in a time-bound manner. M. Swaraj, MLA, spoke.