A former senior official of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) will accompany a technical team of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to China as independent technical expert for the inspection and tests on a delayed consignment of equipment for the Bhoothathankettu small hydro project.
According to a decision taken by the KSEB management, Prabhat Kureel, former principal chief engineer, CEA, will accompany the three-member KSEB team headed by Sajeev G., director-in-charge (Generation-Electrical and Civil).
A long-drawn dispute with the Chinese suppliers of the third and final consignment of electromechanical components has delayed the commissioning of the 24 megawatts (MW) project. The KSEB management had in July taken a decision to send a technical team to inspect the equipment and witness the tests on them.
In March 2015, the KSEB had executed a ₹81.80-crore contract with the consortium of Sree Saravana Engineering Bhavani Ltd (SSEB), Tamil Nadu, and the Chinese company Hunan Zhaoyang Generation Equipment Company Ltd.
Under the conditions of the original agreement, the work should have been completed in August 2016.
Prolonged delays prompted the KSEB to issue a termination notice to the consortium in April 2025. However, the Tamil Nadu company had approached the Kerala High Court against the decision. The KSEB also decided to hold a final meeting with the consortium as it had already invested ₹169 crore in the civil and electromechanical works of the project.
In the meantime, the KSEB was informed that Hunan Zhaoyang Generation Equipment Company Ltd, which went bankrupt, had sold the equipment to another firm, Changsha Xingyue. In this scenario, the Tamil Nadu firm had entered into an MoU with both the Chinese firms.
Following a series of hearings, the Chinese firm had agreed to proceed with the despatch of the equipment, subject to a condition that the inspection can be carried out by KSEB engineers, according to the KSEB.
Published – October 17, 2025 04:54 pm IST
