Conductor tender irregularities worth Rs 1,028 crore unearthed, cases soon: TN Minister

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has identified alleged irregularities worth about Rs 1,028 crore in the procurement of electrical conductors through nine tenders in the power sector, and criminal cases will soon be registered following preliminary inquiries, Electricity Resources Minister R Nirmalkumar said on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters after releasing the White Paper on the State's electricity sector, the Minister said the alleged irregularities were detected during an examination of procurement processes after similar issues were noticed in transformer purchases. "Investigations have been ordered into nine conductor tenders involving alleged irregularities worth around Rs 1,028 crore. Cases will be registered shortly," he said.

The Minister said the government was reviewing procurement records across the electricity utility and undertaking stock verification throughout the State. He said physical verification of transformer stocks was underway at all locations with video documentation to ensure transparency.

Alleging widespread irregularities in procurement during the previous DMK regime, Nirmalkumar claimed there had been excessive price buffers of 30% to 40% in several tenders and said any contractor or individual with evidence of corruption should submit complaints, assuring that FIRs would be registered immediately and investigations launched.

No tariff hike for consumers this year

On electricity tariff, the Minister ruled out any revision for domestic and other consumers this year. He said the State government had decided to absorb the burden instead of passing it on to consumers and that the scheduled annual tariff revision would not be implemented. Consumers would continue to pay at existing rates, he said.

On the proposed shift to monthly electricity billing, Nirmalkumar said the government was working towards introducing the system and that the necessary preparatory work was under way. He said additional field personnel would be recruited as multi-purpose field engineers to undertake meter assessment and billing functions, as the utility currently faced a shortage of assessment staff. The new recruits would be trained to handle multiple field operations instead of being assigned only billing-related work, he added.

The Minister reiterated that subsidies for domestic consumers and farmers would continue without any change, while the government would simultaneously explore alternative revenue sources to improve the financial health of the utility.

On smart meters, Nirmalkumar said the government had not yet taken a final policy decision on large-scale implementation despite pressure from the Union government. He said concerns remained over the long-term viability of the technology, including dependence on communication systems and future technological changes. He said the government was inclined to initially install smart meters only in government buildings before deciding on wider implementation.