Kerala Electricity Minister Sunny Joseph said news reports informed him about dropping the proposed GNA power purchase. The disclosure prompted P Rajeev to question the earlier plan and demand supporting documents.Keralam Electricity Minister Sunny Joseph said he was unaware of the CM's move.Thiruvananthapuram,Nov 10, 2026 12:52 ISTKeralam Electricity Minister Sunny Joseph has said he learnt through news reports about the state government's latest decision not to purchase power from a private entity, news agency Press Trust of India reported.His remarks came amid criticism over the earlier move to purchase electricity through General Network Access (GNA), a private platform.Speaking to reporters on Monday, Joseph said reports informed him that the Chief Minister had spoken to the Power Secretary and the Kerala State Electricity Board chairman about the purchase of electricity."The CM is above the ministers.
He can intervene, as required, in any department," Joseph said, adding that final decisions are taken by the Cabinet. He also said he had spoken to the Chief Minister several times.
Joseph said Keralam was able to manage its power requirements in October because of electricity supplied by the Himachal Pradesh government. He added that it would have benefited Kerala if power from Himachal Pradesh had been available between November 2026 and May 2027.The minister made the remarks while responding to questions about the government's reported decision to drop its earlier plan to purchase power through GNA.
Following Joseph's remarks, senior CPI(M) leader and former state minister P Rajeev questioned why the Chief Minister had earlier decided to purchase power through GNA when, according to the KSEB, Kerala faced no immediate electricity crisis.Rajeev claimed that even if there had been a crisis, the government should have chosen Himachal Pradesh, which was also the KSEB's preferred option. "According to us, the power crisis was created in the state," PTI quoted him as saying.The CPI(M) leader said that if the decision to purchase power was based on a letter from the former KSEB chairman, all related documents should be disclosed. He also contended that the electricity minister's remarks about the Chief Minister's intervention had "exposed" the UDF government soon after it came to power.The controversy centres on the government's reported reversal of its plan to purchase electricity through GNA, with Joseph saying he learnt of the decision from news reports and Rajeev seeking disclosure of the documents behind the earlier proposal.- Ends