The present power crisis in the State is temporary and would disappear as a range of new power plants are scheduled to be commissioned in the coming months. Completion of the projects by 2013 would see Tamil Nadu emerge as a power-surplus State in 2014, said Electricity Minister Natham Viswanathan, here on Sunday.
He was addressing the valedictory of the third edition of Indexpo, a four-day industrial exhibition organised by Madurai District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association (Maditssia) in the city.
Stating that the projects are in various stages of completion, he said that by June next year, new power plants in Vallur, Mettur, North Chennai and Neyveli Lignite Corporation would be coming up. Further, two new high-capacity power plants have been planned at Udangudi and Ennore to meet future demand. He expressed hope that the Kudankulam nuclear power plant would be commissioned soon.
The reasons for the power crisis did not lie with the State Government but was inherited, he said. The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) was in dire financial straits. The present Government found that the debts had soared to Rs 53,000 crore when it took office last year, he added. Part of the blame also lay with the Central Government, as it not only refused Tamil Nadu’s request for additional power from the Central grid but has reduced the quantum of power supply to 1,100 MW from the earlier level of around 2,000 MW.
The Union Power Ministry had also not taken steps to fully integrate the southern electricity grid with the northern grid to enable Tamil Nadu buy surplus power from States such as Gujarat. The single power line connecting the two grids had to be shared by four States and a Union Territory. The Centre, in addition, has been refusing permission for new power plants in Tamil Nadu. The generation of power through windmills in the State is seasonal and hydro power generation has been less owing to poor storage of water in the dams, he explained.
V.V.Rajan Chellappa, Mayor; A.K. Bose, AIADMK MLA (Madurai North); K.R. Gnanasambandan, Vice-President of Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries Association; V.S. Manimaran, Maditssia President; K.S. Serma Pandiyan, Secretary; V. Senthi, Chairman of Inexpo 2012; and K. Nanda Kumar, Vice-Chairman, spoke.