Taking efforts to accelerate power projects: TN Govt

The Tamil Nadu government has taken steps to expedite the commissioning of various power projects in order to meet the growing demand, Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said here today.

The government has added 10,777 MW of power generation capacity since 2011 which made it possible to meet the peak demand of 15,343 MW in April 2016, he said while presenting the budget in the state assembly.

"The government is taking efforts to expedite the commissioning of ongoing power projects to meet the growing demand for power in the State," he said.

Giving details on the status of various power projects, he said the works are in progress for the 660 MW Ennore expansion project, 800 MW North Chennai Project Stage-III, two units of 800 MW each in Uppur project and two units of 660 MW each in Stage-I in Udangudi project.

"This government is steadfast in its efforts to tap the full potential of the state in the renewable energy sector and is continuously pursuing with the union government for the development of a dedicated Inter-State Green Energy Corridor to transmit surplus wind energy to energy deficit states," he said.

Panneerselvam said the state-government owned Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency would enter into an MoU with public sector Energy Efficiency Services Ltd.

"This step is expected to expedite the investments of Rs 11,000 crore in the renewable energy sector over the next three years," he added.

Panneerselvam said an amount of Rs 13,964.08 crore has been provided for the energy sector in the budget 2018-19, which includes Rs 7,537.78 crore as power subsidy for agriculture and other purposes.

New Textile Policy ===================
Panneerselvam said in a move to focus on sunrise sectors, the government would soon come with a "integrated textile policy."