Chief Minister VD Satheesan holds discussions with Chief Secretary Bishwanath Sinha and Dr MG Rajamanickam, CMD of the Kerala State Electricity Board, to address the ongoing power crisis in the state. Photo: X screengrab | @ANI
CM Satheesan calls emergency review meet as Keralam power crisis deepens
Frequent disruptions draw opposition fire as demand rises, generation falls, and KSEB struggles to secure enough power through short-term markets
Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 11 (PTI) Keralam Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Friday convened an emergency review meeting amid the state's acute power crisis and frequent disruptions.
"Chaired an emergency review with the Chief Secretary Shri Bishwanath Sinha IAS and KSEB CMD Shri M G Rajamanickam IAS to address the current power crisis. Directives have been issued for immediate, high-priority actions to resolve the crisis," he said in an X post.
The chief minister's intervention came amid mounting criticism from opposition parties over the power crisis.
Earlier in the day, Electricity Minister Sunny Joseph said the Kerala State Electricity Board was working to address the power shortage and that the opposition should not blame the present government, as lapses during its tenure had also contributed to the current situation.
He said electricity demand had increased by more than 1,000 MW compared to the same period last year, while power generation had declined.
The minister said there had been instances when power restrictions had to be imposed multiple times.
Joseph said the state could not immediately enter into long-term power purchase agreements, as such contracts required tenders, participation by eligible suppliers, regulatory approval and several months to finalise.
The KSEB was unable to secure sufficient power through short-term purchases in the day-ahead and real-time markets, he added.
Further, opposition BJP and CPI(M) alleged that mismanagement and a lack of practical interventions had led to frequent, undeclared power disruptions in the state.
The BJP said it would organise statewide protest marches to KSEB offices on Saturday and Sunday against the acute power crisis.
People were suffering due to the undeclared power cuts, and the situation was an example of the state government's alleged failure, BJP state general secretary S Suresh alleged in a statement.
He said the BJP would launch stronger statewide agitations if the government failed to find an immediate solution to the crisis.
The CPI(M) state secretariat on Thursday called for strong protests against the power crisis in the state, alleging that the UDF government had pushed Keralam into a situation where consumers were not even being informed about the timing of power supply disruptions.
In a statement, the party said the state had remained free of power cuts during the 10 years of LDF rule due to long-term interventions and proper planning.
It said Keralam had faced serious power crises in 2017 and 2023, including coal shortages, deficient rainfall, reduced hydel power generation and rising consumption, but had managed to overcome them without imposing power cuts by utilising all available options.
"Now, the state government is not even ready to inform people when electricity supply will be available or disrupted," the CPI(M) alleged.
The Left party also alleged that attempts were also being made to push Keralam towards the privatisation of the power sector proposed by the Centre by exploiting the present crisis, which it said would further aggravate the situation.
Instead of spreading "false narratives" to justify the crisis, the state government should take practical steps to address it, the party said.
The CPI(M) state secretariat called for branch-level protests across Kerala on September 12 against what it termed the UDF government's "mismanagement" of the power sector. PTI