The Hindu Business Line : Electricity generation in TN improves, but power cuts on

Chennai, July 5 Aided by a ‘windfall’, electricity generation in Tamil Nadu improved about 15 per cent in June over the previous month, but the state continues to suffer from scheduled and unscheduled power cuts.

The windmills in the state generated 1,045 million units in June, falling just a shade short of the monthly target of 1,060 million units. In fact, on the last day of the month, wind power generation rose to 48 million units, the highest for the current year.

Electricity from thermal power stations also improved (see table) because the uptime of most plants was much better than in May, when one unit of the Tuticorin TPS had remained shut due to a snag. In fact, if it were not for the problematic Ennore TPS, where one or the other unit has been always non-operational, the performance figures would have been better.

Generation from gas-based units fell slightly, because the Vazhathur plant was facing problems. Also, ONGC did not supply gas for a couple of days because of repair works at the Kuttalam gas field. The various Independent Power Producers also generated more.

Their data would have looked more robust, but for the fact that the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board did not buy power from the 330 MW PPN Power Station for nearly a week.

The better generation has certainly been good for the cash-strapped TNEB, which purchased only 34 million units in the open market in June, as against 415 million units in May.

Industry, consumers unhappy

Yet, the industry in the state continues to struggle for want of power. “The situation is not too bad in Chennai city and the neighbourhood, but it is pretty bad in the southern districts,” said Mr Manikam Ramaswami, Chairman and Managing Director, Loyal Textiles, which has its production facilities at Kovilpatti.

Chambers of Commerce and Industry continue to complain about power supply. Power cuts are rampant, both scheduled and unscheduled, again both at high tension (industry) and low tension levels.