Only two companies have reportedly expressed willingness to supply power to the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) under a ‘swap’ arrangement proposed by the utility to avert a power shortage in the months ahead.
The Arunachal Pradesh Power Corporation Pvt. Limited (APPCPL) has agreed to supply 150 MW in November this year and 50 MW during March 1-15, 2024. Both the APPCPL and Manikaran Power Ltd. have agreed to supply power during December 2023-March 2024 in various time slots.
The KSEB had hoped to source 500 MW under the ‘swap’ arrangement where the power received is returned at a later date. The tenders were opened on Thursday. In the present case, the KSEB must return the power during June-September 2024. The KSEB management will scrutinise the offers and take a final decision.
This week, the KSEB had opened tenders for medium and short-term power supply to tide over the present shortage. Adani Power and DB Power have quoted ₹6.88 a unit for the supply of 303 MW and 100 MW respectively to the KSEB under a medium-term contract. In the case of short-term supply, 150 MW was offered at ₹7.60 a unit in September, 100 MW at ₹ 7.87 a unit in October and 100 MW at ₹6.95 a unit.