TN to take 30% of electricity board's losses

To ease pressure on the state electricity board, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to take 30 per cent of it losses. The cumulative loss of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) is estimated to be around Rs 50,000 crore.

The government has also decided to pay TNEB’s 50 per cent short-term and mid-term loans — amounting to Rs 12,211 crore

Speaking in the Assembly, electricity minister Natham R Viswanathan said TNEB’s estimated loss every year was around Rs 12,110 crore and the state wanted to bring it down to around Rs 9,000 crore.

“The state government has also given guarantee for TNEB's fund raising from Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC),” said the minister. Both the public sector companies will lend Rs 5,000 crore each.

He said the TNEB had had also floated tenders for setting up a coal-based 660 Mw plant within the existing Ennore Thermal Power Station complex and tenders to set up a 5X660 Mw super critical power plant had been floated.