KSEB Officers Association Hits Back at CM Satheesan Over Power Crisis

Thiruvananthapuram: Protests are mounting against Chief Minister VD Satheesan for blaming KSEB officials while people struggle with black outs. The KSEB Officers Association said the actual causes of the electricity crisis should be examined scientifically and that baseless allegations suggesting electricity department employees are deliberately disrupting power supply would not help resolve the problem.

Such remarks would only undermine the morale of employees and create misconceptions among the public, the association said in a statement. It said immediate steps should be taken to identify the real causes of the current crisis in the power sector and ensure a permanent solution.

The association cautioned that such remarks could affect the morale of employees who work round the clock, even under adverse conditions, to ensure the best possible quality of electricity supply to consumers.

Several factors could contribute to disruptions in power supply, including climate variations, rising peak demand, limitations in the transmission and distribution network, power generation availability and uncertainties in the availability of external power, the association said. Corrective measures should be formulated after conducting a comprehensive assessment of these factors.

The association said urgent priority should be given to measures to strengthen Keralam’s power sector, including increasing domestic power generation, securing long-term power purchase agreements, enhancing the capacity of transmission and distribution networks, and adopting new technologies such as pumped-storage projects and battery energy storage systems.

This is the time for the government, KSEB management and employees’ organisations to work together to identify and address the actual causes of the crisis and make the power sector more efficient and sustainable, the association said.

Instead of blaming electricity employees, their work should be recognised and adequate human resources and technological systems should be ensured, the KSEB Officers Association said.