Kochi, Sept. 11 -- A sudden power outage left the Keralam Power Minister Sunny Joseph literally and figuratively in the dark during his address at the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) Officers' Federation state conference.

The power outage occurred during the state conference of electricity department employees held at Asir Bhavan in Ernakulam and became an embarrassing moment for the Minister at the state conference of the KSEB Officers' Federation.

The minister was speaking about how the electricity department would be retained in the public sector and that a letter had been sent to the Centre stating that it would not be divided into three companies. Just as he was winning applause from the employees, the power went out, leaving...