CM Vijay reviews power supply amid complaints of frequent outages

CHENNAI: Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Wednesday reviewed the power supply situation in the state amid complaints of unannounced power cuts and frequent outages in several parts of Tamil Nadu.

The review was held at the TNEB headquarters on Anna Salai, with officials briefing the CM on the rising power demand, availability, distribution network, transformer failures, maintenance and monsoon preparedness.

Electricity Minister R Nirmalkumar said the state’s power demand could increase by up to 4,000 MW and that power shortages were being witnessed in several parts of the country as well as in the Central generating pool. The meeting discussed measures to manage the demand and arrangements for procuring power to bridge any shortfall.

“The immediate challenge is strengthening the distribution infrastructure. Tamil Nadu requires more than 600 additional substations to meet the present demand,” Nirmalkumar said.

The government has already announced plans to establish around 600 substations in phases by 2031. The minister said the locations requiring new substations had been identified and work was being expedited.

He cited the recent incident at Perambur, where additional load was transferred from the Stanley substation following a problem. The Stanley substation subsequently came under excessive load and a fire broke out. “Such incidents show the need to increase the capacity of the distribution network,” he said.

Tamil Nadu has around 1,900 substations, of which nearly 600 are more than 20 years old. The government is examining their upgradation, the minister said.

A major concern is also the ageing transformer network. More than 40,000 transformers installed around 25 years ago are still in use, Nirmalkumar said. The department has identified around 1,500 transformers in Chennai and its surrounding areas and around 6,000 across the state for replacement or upgradation.

The minister said preventive maintenance had been affected during the election period and several works could not be carried out before the summer. The subsequent increase in demand had contributed to equipment failures in several locations.

Maintenance of thermal power plants has also been deferred because of the present demand. “We need to carry out maintenance of the thermal power plants, but it is difficult to shut them down when demand is high. We are planning the maintenance in the coming months,” he said.

The CM was also briefed on complaints received through Minnagam. Around 30,000 calls are being received every day, apart from complaints being posted on social media platforms.

Nirmalkumar said the government was working on a unified complaint-ticketing system that would bring complaints from different platforms onto a single system and clearly assign responsibility for resolving each complaint. The system is expected to be implemented within a month.

The government has also approved the engagement of 18,000 contract workers for six months to strengthen field operations, including at substations.

On the current power position, Nirmalkumar said the state’s daily demand was around 19,000 MW. Reduced wind generation had resulted in a shortfall of around 3000 MW, which was being met through power purchases, including from gas-based generation.

He said arrangements were being made to procure power for the coming months and longer-term power tie-ups were also being examined. Long-term contracts could take around two years to materialise, he said.

The state is also set to introduce a battery storage policy next week, subject to final approval. The policy will facilitate storage of surplus power generated from renewable sources during the day for use during evening and night peak hours, when solar generation falls.

The CM also reviewed monsoon preparedness. Nirmalkumar said works to raise the height of bill boxes would be completed by September 30 and steps were being taken to shift vulnerable high-tension and high-voltage lines underground.

The department has identified transformers requiring replacement and financial and administrative approvals are being processed, the minister said. Notifications relating to the recruitment and re-engagement of personnel are expected in the coming weeks.