Tamil Nadu will be power surplus by 2013-end

Tamil Nadu will be power surplus by the end of this year, Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa said Friday.

"Very soon Tamil Nadu will become power surplus. When I said this last year, many scoffed at (the claim)," the chief minister told the assembly.

"When it is said now, everybody believe this as nearly 99 percent of that has been achieved."

She said the remaining one percent will be achieved before this year ends and the financial position of the state power utility will also improve.

Blaming the previous DMK government for the Rs.40,375 crore loss of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) as on March 2011, she said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) wrote to all banks not to lend to the power utility.

The state government took over TNEB's debt and infused money into the utility and brought it back to its old position, she said.

Jayalalithaa said under the financial restructuring scheme, 50 percent of the utility's short term debt will be taken over by the government and bonds worth Rs.6,353.49 crore has been issued to banks.

She said the government has given a guarantee of Rs.22,700 crore so that the power utility can raise debt and Rs.5,951.43 crore bank debt will be restructured.