Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

CPI(M) opposes move to shift NTPC to Central pool

Thiruvananthapuram: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretariat has protested against the ongoing moves to shift the National Thermal Power Corporation’s Kayamkulam project to the Central pool overlooking Kerala’s valid claims over the power produced at the station.

In a statement here, the CPI (M) secretariat said it was opposed to the proposed discussion on the sharing of power from the power station.

It said that the1987-91 LDF government had acquired 1,000 acres of land for the NTPC for its Kayamkulam thermal station originally envisaged for implementation with Soviet assistance.

The project did not materialise till 1998 when the LDF government which returned to power in 1996 revived the proposals. Kerala had fully utilised the power generated from the 360 MW capacity project till 2003.

During the UDF rule in 2003, it was decided to share 50 per cent power generated from the station with Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Accordingly, Kerala had been getting 180 MW of power since then.

The statement said that Kerala had paid Rs.1,474 crore as fixed charges for the Rs.1,200-crore thermal station. Initially, the State received power at a rate of Rs.2.50 a unit.

Owing to the increase in price of naphtha, the cost of power went up gradually to peak at Rs.13 a unit.

Kerala continued to pay fixed charges even when it was unable to use the power from this unit owing to higher costs. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu now demanded sharing of power from the station in the light of the lower price for naphtha.

The Union Energy Ministry had given directions to the Southern Regional Power Committee to discuss and decide this matter, the statement said.

The CPI(M) State secretariat, pointing out that the cost of electricity would further come down by 2010 since the power station had got its returns from the fixed charges, strongly objected to the move to shift the power station to the Central pool overlooking the fact that Kerala had paid up the investment cost.

The CPI(M) State secretariat wanted the Kayamkulam station to be retained accepting Kerala’s claim over the power generated there.

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