“We are drawing up a new power allotment formula under which maximum power from Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project 3 and 4 units will be for TN,” Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal has said.

A request was made by Tamil Nadu that maximum power should be allotted to the State from Kudankulam. “I am quite favourable to that (request),” he told newspersons at the Secretariat after meeting Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami. “States that oppose nuclear plants coming up (in their territory) should not be eligible for nuclear power from others,” he said.

Last October, construction was commissioned for the two units with 2x1000 MW capacity.

UDAY benefits

After joining Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY), a Central government scheme for the rehabilitation of public utilities, Tamil Nadu’s losses in power sector have reduced to ₹3,700 crore from ₹14,000 crore in the last three years.

“UDAY has helped TN become a power surplus state. In the days to come, TN distribution and generating companies will also start making profit and will be able to provide affordable, adequate, uninterrupted and clean power round the year,” he said.

Tangedco will break even this fiscal and is sure of making ₹2,000-crore profit next fiscal, he said.

Cheyyur UMPP

On Cheyyur UMPP to be built on domestic coal, Goyal said, “We have agreed to allot it and support the State government to set up the project. Steps will be taken to allot coal block.”

In three years, the Centre had doubled transmission capacity to the southern grid and most it has come to Tamil Nadu. In the next 3-4 years, the capacity will be further expanded to 18,000 MW by 2020 from 3,450 MW in 2014 to South India. After that, there will be no a problem either to bring power to Tamil Nadu or evacuate power from the State, he said.

“We are examining how we can do regional grids instead of State-level grid management so that more renewable energy can be brought into Tamil Nadu,” he said.

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