Aryadan claims great power performance

KOCHI: Power Minister Aryadan Mohammed has claimed impressive performance by the power sector in Kerala over the past few years compared to neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. He was addressing the interactive session organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Kerala, to discuss the state’s current power scenario, in Kochi the other day.He urged the participating industrialists to look at alternative sources of power generation such as hydroelectric and wind energy. He added that the tariff rates in Kerala are much less compared to that of other states. To meet industrial demands and requirements, the power sector in Kerala requires urgent budgetary assistance. CII Kerala State Council and managing director Umang Patodia, spoke on the high scope and potential of establishing small/mini hydel plants with a capacity to generate almost 6,000 MW of electricity. He pointed out that there were many industrialists in the state willing to invest on a large-scale in the power sector, if there were favourable conditions enticing and attracting investment. Patodia also spoke on the ever-rising employee costs of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) which have escalated almost 400 pc in the past decade, and suggested to the minister to freeze further hiring in KSEB.KSEB Chief Engineer Satyarajan said he would look into the problems put forward by the CII members and provide feedback regarding the same to the minister.The other speakers at the session included the director of the Agency for Non-Conventional Energy and Rural Technology, P Valsaraj as well as Southern Region former chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) K K M Kutty, among others.