KOCHI: Fears are riding high that the temporary shutting down of Brahmapuram diesel power plant will soon put the plant completely out of use.The issue has gained momentum as the Kerala Electricity Workers Federation (KEWF) is all set to raise objections against the move by the KSEB. The diesel plant has been shut down for the next six months. The reason? Heavy cost incurred in the production of electricity. The Kerala Electricity Workers Federation alleged that it was a pre-planned attempt from the KSEB to transfer the plant as well as the land for the Smart City Project.“Though the plant was not put into full use, it had been operational till June 16. There is also a move to redeploy the workers to other sites, a clear indication that the plant will not be operational in the near future,” said KEWF president A N Rajan.“About Rs 400 crore had been spent on this plant and Rs 40 crore spent on five generators for maintenance works. Hence, there is no need for any maintenance work in the next 15 years. If that is the case, the machinery will fall completely out of use if the plant is closed. It would be hard to repair as most of them were imported from France,” he said.Mohammed Raut, chief engineer (Generation), said the plant was temporarily shut down owing to the increase in the production rates. “Here we are producing electricity for Rs 10 per unit. Why should we do that if we are getting electricity from outside for Rs 4 per unit?”However, the KEWF dismissed the argument, saying that the KSEB was misleading the truth. “They are running the plant in Kozhikode along the same lines. Moreover, there are times they have bought electricity for Rs 15,” Rajan said. “Out of the 204 acres where the plant stands, 100 acres were already given for the Smart City project. It is a tactic by the KSEB to show that the plant is running at a loss, so that they could hand over both the plant and the land for the Smart City Project,” alleged K C Mani, KEWF secretary.
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