TN to become power surplus, says Jayalalithaa

The chief minister notes that between 1991 and 1996, and between 2001 and 2006, Tamil Nadu was a power surplus State.

Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa said in the next six months the state would totally become power surplus and expects there would be no power cuts in the state.

In her reply to Sudipto Mundle, member of the 14th Finance Commission, on the power situation in the state, the chief minister said: "It is true this government was facing and tackling a very difficult power situation, a situation of a big gap between demand and supply. But I would like to emphasise with all the force at my command that this situation is not the creation of this government”.

She noted, between 1991 and 1996, and between 2001 and 2006, Tamil Nadu was a power surplus state. There was no question of any power cuts at that time. The state was actually supplying power to other states and was earning revenue through that route also. 

Many new projects which were initiated by the AIADMK government between 2001 and 2006 and if those projects have been carried forward, if they had been completed, even today Tamil Nadu would have been a power surplus state, said the chief minister.

She alleged the DMK government had ignored all those schemes and did not carry forward those projects or implementing them. There was a perennial power shortage in Tamil Nadu from 2007 onwards, particularly, in 2008, 2009 and 2010 and up to May 2011 when a different government was administering the state. 

The state had went in for power purchase and succeeded in negotiating agreements with other power surplus states for the purchase of power. But then even though, for example, the State negotiated an agreement with Gujarat to purchase 500-Mw there was no room for us in the transmission corridor, because priority was given to other states which had already negotiated long-term agreement and therefore we were able to actually bring only about 100 or 150-Mw to Tamil Nadu. This was the situation, said the chief minister.

"We have initiated a number of new power projects which could have got started, could have got commissioned but clearances are deliberately being delayed by the central government," she added.

For example, for the Kundah Power Project and the Sillahalla Power Project clearances are not being given by the central government.  From Jul-Oct 2013, there was no power cut in Tamil Nadu. The state government had successfully bridged the entire gap between demand and supply in two-and-a-half years, she said.

But then very strangely, a number of central generating stations went out of order in Tamil Nadu. Till today, every thermal plant, every power generating plant that is under the control of the state is functioning to full capacity. Now again if there is any power deficit, it would only be due to certain flaws in central generating stations, said the chief minister. "It is very odd that all these have taken place at the same time, simultaneously".