Power minister M M Mani stresses on cheap and profitable projects

Kozhikode: Electricity Minister M.M. Mani said on Monday that   cheap and profitable water and electricity schemes which had been halted will be restarted. He was addressing a gathering at  Thalakkulathur  here after the inception of a 650kw solar project in the area.   The halted schemes include  Kuttikkanam, Pallivasal, Chathankottu Nada and Maankulam.    Athirapally has the maximum potential with a capacity of 163mw.   The  controversies on the project would be resolved before going ahead with it,  he said.

An alternative proposal of  utilising windmills  on the Tamil Nadu border, Palakkad district and Sahya mountain range was  under study. The state produces only 30 percent  of the total required power.   The  production is bound to plummet on account of reduced rains.   However, the  KSEB will not impose power cuts, he said. An average of 9.96 lakh units of solar power can be produced annually, according to the new scheme.

To convert a DC input from 2360 solar panels to AC, a 680kw inverter, a 700kw transformer and related devices will be installed over an area of 3.67 acres. Others who addressed the gathering  included Chelannur block panchayat president O.P. Shobhana, Thalakkulathur panchayat president C.Prakashan, district panchayat  president Mukkam Muhammed, block member Seena Suresh, grama panchayat member P. Jayanthi, development standing committee chairman K.Prakashan and  KSEB chief engineer (generation) V.Brijlal.