The government will examine the Centre’s proposal to handover to the State NTPC’s Rajiv Gandhi Combined Cycle Power Plant (RGCCPP) at Kayamkulam, Power Minister M.M. Mani has said.
The feasibility, viability, and other issues related to the takeover of the 359.58-MW power plant had to be examined in detail, Mr, Mani said while replying to questions in the Assembly on Wednesday.
The initial cost of power from the naphtha-based power plant was ₹3 a unit and it had gone above ₹7 a unit and naphtha is in short supply. Although the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission had set a fixed charge of ₹299 crore annually through tariff revision order, whether power was utilised from the NTPC plant or not, the Kerala State Electricity Board was remitting only the old rate.
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Mr. Mani said the pact with NTPC could be re-examined in 2018 and a decision on takeover of the plant would be taken only after carrying out a feasibility study. NTPC had also come up with a proposal to set up a 170-MW solar plant on the plant premises.
Intervening, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said several issues were involved in taking over the plant. Bringing LNG from the terminal in Kochi was an alternative to make the plant operational. The people would have to be taken into confidence to complete the laying of the LNG pipeline, the Chief Minister said.
The Power Minister said 16 new hydroelectric projects with an installed capacity of 156.5 MW were under the consideration of the KSEB. The 163-MW Athirappilly hydroelectric project would be executed through consensus, he said. As much as 74.719 MW of solar energy had been connected to the Kerala grid in March.
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Stating that a power crisis had been averted through purchase of electricity at low cost from the DEEP e-bidding portal through reverse auction, Mr. Mani said there was a deficit of 3,228 million units till April 18 this year owing to deficit in rainfall.