KSEB eyes medium-term power procurement to handle peak demand

Battling an unexpected power crisis during monsoon season, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is now eyeing a medium-term power purchase deal to secure 300 MW to meet the peak-hour demand for the period from January 2027 to December 2031. The power utility has approached the State Electricity Regulatory Commission seeking nod for restructuring the bid evaluation methodology and the bidding documents for procuring 300 MW for meeting the demand between 6 p.m. and midnight.

The revised methodology “ensures fair comparison among conventional generators, renewable energy projects, renewable energy-coupled storage projects and trading licensees and facilitates identification of the bidder offering the lowest effective landed cost to the KSEB,” the KSEB said in its petition.

In 2023, the Commission had approved the bidding for procuring 300 MW round-the-clock (RTC) power on medium-term basis for the period from February 2024 to June 2026 under Finance, Own and Operate (FOO), mode. Although tenders were floated, they were eventually cancelled as the per-unit rates quoted by the bidders were high. The KSEB decided to instead pursue long-term power procurement under the Centre’s SHAKTI (short for Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala Transparently in India) policy. But these too did not work out.

In December 2025, the KSEB re-considered the 300 MW FOO proposal and floated tenders in March 2026. In May, the tender schedules were revised to incorporate the revised methodology. The revision “promotes transparency, competitive neutrality and proper price discovery and consumer interest and is therefore necessary for successful completion of the ongoing competitive bidding process,” according to the KSEB.