India

Opposition Leader Accuses Kerala CM of Corrupt Power Deal with GNA Energy

By PTI

In a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan accused the state government of creating an artificial power shortage to secure a 500‑MW electricity purchase from GNA Energy. Vijayan said the decision bypassed the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and the Electricity Minister, Sunny Joseph, and was made without normal administrative procedures or cabinet discussion. He questioned Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan’s claim that he personally signed the agreement, noting that electricity procurement is the responsibility of the KSEB and the relevant department.

Vijayan highlighted that GNA Energy, a digital over‑the‑counter platform, does not generate power and that the state should have followed transparent competitive tendering. He asked which company supplies the electricity and why the CM intervened in a deal with a non‑generating platform.

The opposition leader cited the KSEB’s official warning that the arrangement would cause financial losses and referenced objections from former KSEB chairman M. G. Rajamanickam, who was reportedly removed after refusing to approve the deal.

Vijayan also challenged the justification for the alleged power crisis, noting adequate rainfall and dam water levels in the previous month and that national market rates were around ₹5 per unit compared with ₹8.63–₹8.90 per unit offered by GNA Energy. He estimated an additional ₹635 crore burden for the state on a total supply of 181.2 crore units.

He contrasted the GNA Energy deal with a revised offer from Himachal Pradesh: the initial rate of ₹16.50 per unit was reduced to ₹12.50 per unit for morning and evening peak hours, which the KSEB accepted and Kerala purchased in October. Vijayan argued that buying 500 MW from GNA during daytime hours would cost at least ₹727 crore more than the Himachal arrangement and that the CM used the earlier higher Himachal rate to justify the GNA deal.

Vijayan denied claims that the previous LDF government had bought power directly from GNA Energy, noting that power swapping is common and that GNA had been involved in such arrangements during that tenure, with only a regulatory commission‑approved service charge paid to the platform.