Rationale behind power purchase from pvt companies questioned

DMK president M Karunanidhi today questioned the rationale behind Tamil Nadu government's power purchase from certain private generation companies at higher rates.
He said Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company (TANGEDCO) had allotted Rs 27,147 crore in the current financial year towards purchasing power from government and private utilities, and this was nearly 55 percent of its total revenue.
Such a large allocation towards purchasing power had resulted in loss for TANGEDCO, he claimed.
Power purchase was being made from four particular private players at Rs 15 per unit though the Tamil Nadu Energy Regulatory Commission (TNERC) had cautioned against going beyond Rs 5.50, he said in a letter to partymen.

"From April 2013 to March 2014, power from private players alone has been purchased for Rs 16,280 crore of the allotted Rs 22,090 crore," he said.
Despite reports in this regard, the government had not clarified, he added.

Further, the proposed power tariff revision had also not come into force due to reasons, including the impending bypoll to Srirangam constituency, vacated by former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa following her disqualification in an assets case by a Bengaluru special court in September.
He said the financial requirement of TANGEDCO in the current year would be Rs 39,092 crore whereas the revenue was expected to be around Rs 32,238 crore.

Power generation initiatives such as the Rs 7,000 crore Sillahalla hydel power project were running late, he said while pointing out at reports that there were 'unannounced' power cuts of two to four hours for domestic consumers in the state, besides imposition of load shedding for industries also.