Keralam power purchase row: CM Satheesan plays down issue, dismisses charges that Electricity Minister was kept in the dark

Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan (right) with Electricity Minister Sunny Joseph (file)

Amid a raging controversy over a power purchase proposal via over-the-counter (OTC) platform GNA Energy, Keralam Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan on Wednesday (November 11, 2026) sought to play it down, saying the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) had “never entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with GNA in the first place.” The Chief Minister also dismissed the charge that Electricity Minister Sunny Joseph was kept in the dark about the developments as “baseless.”

At a post-Cabinet press briefing in Thiruvananthapuram, Mr. Satheesan said he was “not aware whether the KSEB had misled him or not” on the power situation.

However, an October 29 note the then KSEB chairman and managing director M.G. Rajamanickam sent to the government through the Electricity Minister seeking a quick decision on the power purchase options from GNA Energy and the Himachal Pradesh government did have a sentence saying Keralam could “face prolonged power cuts,” he said. “Any Chief Minister would have been scared of being held responsible for causing power cuts by sitting on a file,” Mr. Satheesan said. However, the Chief Minister remained noncommittal on whether an investigation would be ordered into the KSEB report.

On Mr. Sunny Joseph’s statement that he got to know about the government decision not to proceed with the ‘GNA agreement’ from media reports, the Chief Minister said it “was so since no agreement was in fact signed” with GNA Energy.

“The file was forwarded to me by the Minister himself. The KSEB sent it to him and he forwarded it to me. I will return it to him, and from him, it will go to KSEB. Everything is pucca,” he said.

According to the Chief Minister, the file mentioned two options – a supply offer from Himachal Pradesh at ₹14.50 per unit and another from GNA at ₹8.63 and 8.90 per unit. GNA was seen as the better option as the price was lower. Meanwhile, the quantum offered by the latter was sold to Rajasthan at ₹15.50. But an examination of the power situation revealed that Keralam faced no shortage in November and December, but may require it later on.

On Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan’s demand for a judicial probe into the power purchase proposal, Mr. Satheesan said Mr. Vijayan “keeps contradicting himself.” CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan, Mr. Satheesan said, was “clueless” about the power purchase proposal. The absence of planning and long-term power purchase agreements during the tenure of the CPI(M)-led LDF government had led to the recent power crisis, he said. “I would call it criminal negligence,” he said, adding that only 300 MW was additionally generated during the 10-year LDF rule. Despite an increase in the number of rooftop solar units, no storage systems were installed, he added.

Mr. Satheesan said the government would purchase electricity at the lowest available price. As part of addressing the energy needs of the State in the long run, the government intended to step up renewable energy generation with battery storage, he said, adding that a decision would be taken on long-term power purchase agreements this month (November) itself.

Also, the government intended to announce and implement projects with regard to the State’s emerging electricity needs in another five years, he said.