Centre should change Mega Power Policy: Minister

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 14 (UNI) The Centre should change the Mega Power Policy regarding the Thermal Power projects, with a capacity of 1,000 MW and above, Kerala Electricity Minister A K Balan said today.

Signing an agreement with NTPC to purchase 200 MW power from Simhadri Project in Andhra Pradesh here, he said the government had informed the Centre and the NTPC that it could not agree to the recommendation of privatising the power distribution in the cities, where the population crossed ten lakh.

Mr Balan said the cost of power per unit would be fifty paise and the period of power purchase agreement would be for 25 years.

The Minister said the government would soon sign an MoU with Tuthukudi Lignite Corporation and Tamil Nadu government to make available 122 MW power for the state from the project.

The government would also take steps to get another 266 MW from Koodamkulam project and 38 MW from Kaiga Project in Karnataka, he said.

The government's main aim was to generate the required electricity by tapping the water sources and completing the projects in a time bound manner, he added.

UNI