RTI activist flags solar lapses amid load shedding

Kochi: As Kerala faces load shedding, an RTI activist has accused KSEB of failing to implement two grid-connected solar projects, causing losses running into crores.Kochi-based activist K Govindan Namboothiri, speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, said KSEB's failure to execute solar projects in Ettumanoor, Kottayam, and Mylatti, Kasaragod, had resulted in significant financial losses to the public exchequer. In Ettumanoor, a 1 MW solar project estimated at Rs 6.68 crore was awarded to a Bengaluru-based consortium. The contract was signed on June 14, 2016, but was never completed. KSEB had already allocated Rs 2.48 crore toward materials and storage charges. The completion deadline was repeatedly extended— finally to Dec 31, 2022 — without any penalty being imposed on the contractor. "The total loss from non-implementation has not yet been calculated," said Namboothiri. In Mylatti, a 1 MW grid-connected solar project at a 220 KV substation was contracted to a Chennai-based firm on March 1, 2018. The site was handed over in Aug 2018, but KSEB cancelled the contract in 2021, resulting in a loss of Rs 1.58 crore. "Ettumanoor is a case of poor planning and unscientific site selection. Mylatti reflects a lack of willpower. This is not mere inefficiency — it is negligence and corruption," he said. Namboothiri questioned why KSEB had not recovered the losses from responsible officials and contractors, even as the board continues to raise electricity tariffs. Namboothiri demanded accountability from the electricity minister and KSEB, and called for the recovery of losses and a corresponding reduction in consumer electricity bills.