Parliament Question: Power allocation and renewable energy development in Kerala

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3506 ANSWERED ON 23.03.2026 POWER ALLOCATION AND RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT IN KERALA 3506 SHRI SANDOSH KUMAR P: Will the Minister of POWER be pleased to state: (a) the total power allocation from Central Generating Stations to the State of Kerala during the last five years, year-wise details; (b) whether the Central Government has received any request from the State for additional power allocation and the status thereof; (c) details of central assistance provided to the State for strengthening transmission infrastructure and grid modernization during the last five years; (d) status of renewable energy projects, including solar and wind projects, supported by the Central Government in the State; and (e) whether Government proposes any special measures for States like Kerala which are highly dependent on hydropower and vulnerable to monsoon variations? A N S W E R THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF POWER (SHRI SHRIPAD NAIK) (a): The power allocation (firm and unallocated quota) from Central Sector Generating Stations (CGSs) to the State of Kerala during the last five financial years (as on 31st March) and current financial year (as on 28.02.2026) is given at Annexure-I. (b): Recently, Ministry of Power has received the request from state of Kerala for extension of 177 MW of allocated power. 177 MW power was allocated by the Ministry of Power (MoP) on 28.09.2024 and currently, extended up to 30.04.2026. (c) to (e): A total of seven projects has been approved under PSDF (Power System Development Fund) for Kerala for strengthening transmission infrastructure and grid modernization, for which, a grant of ₹ 597.60 crores has been sanctioned. Out of these, five projects have been completed, and remaining two projects are under various stages of execution. The details are given at Annexure-II. In addition to above, Ministry of Power (MoP) has approved ‘Viability Gap Funding’ (VGF) @ ₹ 18 lakh per MWh for development of ‘Battery Energy Storage Systems’ (BESS) of 500 MWh through PSDF for Kerala.Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), under Green Energy Corridor Phase-II scheme, has sanctioned ₹138.71 Cr for 224 ckm of transmission lines and 620 MVA of substations which are being implemented by Kerala State Electricity Board Limited (KSEBL) under Intra-state transmission system for integration of 452 MW of RE. Further, The Government of India has taken several steps and initiatives to promote and accelerate renewable energy capacity in the country including State of Kerala. These include, inter- alia, the following: (i) 100% Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) charges have been waived for inter-state sale of solar and wind power for projects to be commissioned by 30th June 2025 (with waiver tapering off 25% annually till June 2028), for co-located BESS projects commissioned by June 2028, for Hydro PSP projects where construction work awarded by June 2028, for Green Hydrogen Projects commissioned till December 2030 and for offshore wind projects commissioned till December 2032. (ii) Standard Bidding Guidelines for tariff based competitive bidding process for procurement of Power from Grid Connected Solar, Wind, Wind-Solar Hybrid and Firm & Dispatchable RE (FDRE) projects have been issued. (iii) Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued Bidding Trajectory for issuance of RE power procurement bids of 50 GW per annum by ‘Renewable Energy Implementing Agencies’ (REIAs) from FY 2023-24 to FY 2027-28. (iv) Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has been permitted up to 100 percent under the automatic route. (v) Laying of new transmission lines and creating new sub-station capacity has been supported under the Green Energy Corridor Scheme for evacuation of renewable power (vi) To augment transmission infrastructure needed for steep RE trajectory, transmission plan has been prepared till 2032. (vii) Scheme for setting up of Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power projects is being implemented to provide land and transmission to RE developers for installation of RE projects at large scale (viii) Schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM- KUSUM), PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, National Programme on High Efficiency Solar PV Modules, New Solar Power Scheme (for Tribal and PVTG Habitations/Villages) under Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN) and Dharti Aabha Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DA JGUA), National Green Hydrogen Mission, Viability Gap Funding (VGF) Scheme for Offshore Wind Energy Projects have been launched (ix) Government of India, in September 2023, approved a Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme for development of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). BESS capacity of 13.22 GWh is under implementation with a budgetary allocation of Rs. 3,760 Cr. under this scheme. Considering the increasing demand of BESS, Ministry of Power, in June 2025, has approved another VGF scheme for development of 30 GWh BESS capacity with a financial support of Rs 5,400 Cr from Power System Development Fund (PSDF).(x) To promote RE consumption at scale Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) followed by Renewable Consumption Obligation (RCO) trajectory has been notified till 2029-30. The RCO which is applicable to all designated consumers under the Energy Conservation Act 2001 will attract penalties on non-compliance. RCO also includes specified quantum of consumption from Decentralized Renewable Energy sources. (xi) “Strategy for Establishments of Offshore Wind Energy Projects” has been issued. (xii) To achieve the objective of increased domestic production of Solar PV Modules, the Govt. of India is implementing the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for High Efficiency Solar PV Modules. (xiii) 12,723.5 MW of Hydro Electric Projects are under construction. Further, 4,274 MW of Hydro Electric Projects are under various stage of planning and targeted to be completed by 2031-32 (xiv) Ministry of Power has initiated the steps to promote Pumped Storage Projects (PSPs) to support renewable energy integration and grid stability. At present, 10 Pumped Storage Projects totaling 11,870 MW are under construction in the country. ************ANNEXURE-I ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3506 ANSWERED IN THE RAJYA SABHA ON 23.03.2026 ************* The power allocation from Central Sector Generating Stations (CGSs) to the State of Kerala during the last five years and current year Financial Year (FY) Firm (MW) Unallocated (MW) Total (MW) 2020-21 (as on 31.03.2021) 2,047.50 236.90 2,284.40 2021-22 (as on 31.03.2022) 2,047.50 236.80 2,284.30 2022-23 (as on 31.03.2023) 2,047.50 232.60 2,280.10 2023-24 (as on 31.03.2024) 2,047.50 243.70 2,291.20 2024-25 (as on 31.03.2025) 2,224.50 185.80 2,410.30 2025-26 (as on 28.02.2026) 2,224.50 584.40 2,808.90 *************ANNEXURE-II ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PARTS (c) TO (e) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3506 ANSWERED IN THE RAJYA SABHA ON 23.03.2026 ************* Details of sanctioned projects under PSDF (Power System Development Fund) for state of Kerala for strengthening transmission infrastructure and grid modernization: Sl. Implementing Grant Name of project & ID Present status No. Entity Sanctioned Renovation and Upgradation of Protection 1 KSEBL 82.31 System of Substations. (02) Implementation of Automatic Demand 2 KSEBL 4.77 Management proposal (ADMS) (080) Construction of 400/220kV Multicircuit/ 3 Multivoltage Transmission line from KSEBL 333.93 madakkathara to Areekode. (090) Up-rating Kakkaram - Nallalam 110kV line Project (45km) & Upgrading Nallalam-Chevayur- Completed. 4 KSEBL 66.85 Westhill-Koyilandy 110kV Single Circuit line in to Double line (32km). (096) Renovation & Up gradation of Various 200kV Switchyard Equipment, Automatic 5 Generation Control system of major KSEBL 20.18 generating stations, AMR and associated works of KSEBL. (126) Reliable Communication and data 6 Acquisition System up to 110kV Substation KSEBL 73.76 in Kerala. (141) Project is Implementation of SAMAST (Scheduling, under Accounting, Metering & Settlement of execution 7 KSEBL 15.80 Transactions in Electricity) report in the State of Kerala. (268) Total 597.60 *************