Sharp cut in Tamil Nadu’s share of unallocated central power
The reduction has come amid a steep increase in power demand in the first week of July
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CHENNAI: The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) reduced Tamil Nadu's share from the unallocated power pool of Central Sector Generating Stations (CGSs) in the Southern Region from 31.6 per cent in May to 27.5 per cent for the July-September period. The State's share will be reduced further to 20 per cent for the October-December period, marking a steep overall cut of 11.6 percentage points from that of May.
As a result of the cut, Tamil Nadu's total allocation from CGSs fell to 6,522 MW in July, including an unallocated share of 417.4 MW, compared to 6,669 MW in June, including 529 MW of unallocated power, resulting in a net reduction of 147 MW. In May, the State was allocated 6,867 MW from the CGS along with an unallocated share of 726 MW, while it was 6,952 MW in April, including 813 MW of unallocated power.
The reallocation, announced in a CEA order dated July 2, has been made given the anticipated power supply position of southern states and union territories.
The reduction in unallocated power share from CGS has come amid the State witnessing a steep increase in power demand in the first week of July, compared to May and June. The State has been witnessing a steady daily energy consumption of over 400 million units a day, except for Sunday, while the peak demand has touched around 19,000 MW, which is lower than last year's demand.
A senior official from Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Ltd (TNPDCL) said that the State had an additional 430 MW unallocated share from CGS to meet the summer power demand from March to May 31. "With the commencement of the wind power season, the Centre has revised the unallocated share, as the State could meet the power demand with available resources. The reduction in the unallocated share would not impact the state's power supply position," the official said.