Thiruvananthapuram : Chief minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday defended the govt’s decision to buy power from GNA Energy , a private power trading platform, saying the alternative proposal from Himachal Pradesh would have cost the state an additional Rs 2,232 crore. He denied that the KSEB chairman was transferred for opposing costlier purchases.




At his post-cabinet press conference, Satheesan said the power minister had forwarded two proposals: Rs 14.50 per unit from Himachal Pradesh Power Trading Corporation Ltd (HPPCL) through Power Trading Corporation (PTC) India Ltd or Rs 8.63 and Rs 8.90 per unit from GNA.




The Himachal offer was not a govt-to-govt deal, he said, as PTC is a trading company that would also charge a margin. The GNA offer came through an open platform. “Can the govt buy electricity at an additional cost of Rs 6 per unit merely because the proposal is projected as coming from a govt?” he asked.




GNA would supply 1,812 million units (MU) by the end of March, against 843 MU from Himachal. Contrary to reports, GNA would also supply more in peak hours (6pm to midnight): 453 MU against Himachal’s 353 MU, he said.




Assuming an average regulatory ceiling of Rs 6 per unit at peak hours, the additional liability would be Rs 2.60 per unit under GNA and Rs 8.50 under Himachal.




Disputing reports of a Rs 722 crore loss from the GNA deal, he cited a KSEB report: Buying from Himachal above the ceiling would have cost an additional Rs 722.91 crore from Oct to Dec and Rs 1,510.43 crore up to May, totalling Rs 2,232.34 crore.




Satheesan said the previous LDF govt had also bought from GNA in 2025, and accused the opposition of making allegations without examining its own record. In its tenure, KSEB bought mostly from private firms such as Jindal, Adani and Tata Power, with little from NTPC, he said.




Denying that the KSEB chairman was pressured into a costlier deal, he said the board had sent both proposals to him as he was responsible for securing the lowest rate. Nobody had told the govt not to proceed with GNA, he said.




He blamed the current shortage partly on the previous govt’s failure to anticipate demand and sign long-term agreements. Its 500 MW power swap had to be returned in June and July, when poor rainfall left the state short. Consumption rose by nearly 1,000 MW in Sept, he said, adding that the swap was imprudent given a possible El Nino effect.