Centre's suggestion of one time settlement of arrears due to National Thermal Power Corporation and the plan to issue State Electricity Board (KSEB) bonds to tide over the crisis will be discussed and a way worked out, chief minister A K Antony said on Monday. Government will not allow the state to go into darkness, Antony said, adding the issues will be decided at the next cabinet meeting.
NTPC has threatened that it would regulate the supply of power to the state from its generating stations due to mounting payment arrears to the tune of Rs 1,100 crore. Talking to reporters after a cabinet meeting, Antony admitted that KSEB was in deep financial crisis due to mounting losses.
KSEB would be forced to increase the period of power cut from the present half-an-hour cyclical power cut throughout the state except in cities like Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode, if NTPC implemented its decision.
Government wanted to avoid the half-an-hour power cut, now imposed on the state, during the SSLC examination scheduled for next month, he added
Bureau Report