New Delhi: Chief minister V D Satheesan said NTPC has agreed to a set of measures to ease Keralam’s power shortage and secure its future energy needs, following talks in New Delhi. Satheesan and power minister Sunny Joseph represented the state at the meeting.He said KSEB, NTPC and NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL) will sign a memorandum of understanding to implement a 2,000MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) at Kayamkulam. Two BESS projects of 80MWh each will be commissioned at Sreekandapuram and Pothencode by Mar 2027. Keralam will get up to 300MW from NTPC’s Sinnar project in Maharashtra at Rs 5.18/unit.A decision was taken to speed up follow-up action on NTPC’s 27MW solar project at Kayamkulam, with the state’s cooperation. Considering the state’s long-term needs, the CM asked NTPC to set up a dedicated power station for Keralam. NTPC expressed its willingness to sign a power purchase agreement to supply the required power from its Ramagundam plant, he said.NTPC’s professional and technical expertise will also be made available to KSEB to strengthen its management, technical operations and modern power management systems. Satheesan described these decisions as crucial steps towards strengthening Keralam’s energy future through renewable energy, energy storage, additional power availability and long-term power security.After a gap of 10 years, power restrictions were back in Keralam in Sept on account of monsoon failure and coal shortage in the country. The state govt had repeatedly blamed the previous LDF govt for the cancellation of long-term power purchase agreements signed during UDF’s tenure as the core reason for the unprecedented shortage of power. However, the opposition claimed that poor planning was the reason for power restrictions in Keralam.
