Chief Secretary V. Venu has submitted his report on the ‘unapproved’ power supply contracts under Design, Build, Finance, Own and Operate (DBFOO) mode to Electricity Minister K. Krishnankutty. The final call on whether the State should reinstate the long-term contracts totalling 465 MW will be taken by the State Cabinet.
Meantime, the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission has come out with a statement explaining its reasons for the DBFOO contracts. The commission had declined to approve the contracts as the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) had deviated from the Union government guidelines concerning DBFOO arrangements, the commission said in a note titled ‘Reasons behind cancellation of DBFOO contract.’
In view of the power supply crisis faced by the State, the KSEB had urged the government to invoke Section 108 of the Electricity Act to press the commission to reinstate the contracts.