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Reorganisation of KSEB must, says Shinde

Special Correspondent

SWITCHING ON: Union Minister for Power Sushil Kumar Shinde arriving to dedicate a sub-station of the Power Grid Corporation in the capital on Thursday. — Photo: S. Gopakumar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Reorganisation of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is imperative to improve transmission and prevent thefts, but the Board will not be privatised, Union Minister for Power Sushil Kumar Shinde has said.

Dedicating a 400-kV sub-station of the Power Grid Corporation of India here on Thursday evening, Mr. Shinde said that unbundling was not on the agenda, but reorganisation was necessary for strengthening the organisation.

Many other States, including Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, were apprehensive about reorganising the Board, but there was a five per cent fall in power thefts after the reorganisation.

Mr. Shinde allayed fears the about safety aspects relating to transmission and distribution after reorganising the Board. The Central Electricity Authority had issued a safety manual to address such issues, he said.

A sum of Rs. 1,200 crore would be invested in the State for setting up a high-capacity transmission highway.

Mr. Shinde also offered the assistance of Central agencies, such as the NTPC or the Power Grid Corporation, for implementing the Rajiv Gandhi rural electrification scheme. New projects would be implemented in such a way that it would have only the minimum environmental impact, he said.

Power Minister A.K. Balan; Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran; Varkala Radhakrishnan, MP; Thennala Balakrishna Pillai, MP; Francis George, MP; Union Power Secretary R.V. Shahi and Power Grid Chairman and Managing Director R.P. Singh spoke.

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