Tangedco managers in a fix as wind energy production dips

CHENNAI: Even as the fall in the power supply from central generating stations resulted in a power outage, Tangedco also faced a steep fall in the wind power generation putting the power managers in a fix.

According to Tangedco sources, the state would receive 7,149 MW from the central generating stations (CGS) as its share. “The state was receiving about 4,300 MW from the CGS on Friday evening with some of the units under forced and planned shutdowns. In the last few days, the supply from the CGS has come down by over 1,000 MW with a unit of Vallur Thermal Power Plant facing outage on Friday evening,” sources added.

The low generation from the windmills has added to the woes of Tangedco. According to the Indian Wind Power Association, the wind generation in the state has picked up with the onset of southwesterly winds from April 17. “Normally, the wind generation will start picking up once the SW winds sets in. This year, it fell sharply from April 20. Our forecaster predicted the fall in wind generation. But, we don’t know what was the reason for it. I think it is climate change,” said IWPA chairperson Dr K Kasthurirangaian.

A senior Tangedco official said that wind power generation is very infirm in nature. “Since there is a rain forecast for few districts in the state, the wind generation might have got hit. The windmills are generating about 100 MW on Friday as against 1000-1500 MW a few days ago. Even the wind generation forecast has been revised, the latest wind generation was expected from April 28,” the official added.

Dr S Balachandran, head, of Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai said that pre-monsoon winds are quite unpredictable as it depends on various factors. The wind strength depends on the high-pressure system of both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, he said, adding that the wind power generation could improve once the South Westerly Winds pick up in mid-May.

Stop blaming Centre, boost power generation, says Annamalai

COIMBATORE: BJP state president K Annamalai on Friday blamed the state for failing to increase power generation to overcome shortage. Speaking to reporters here, Annamalai said Tamil Nadu is facing eight to ten hours of power cuts. “Power cuts will only increase in May and make people suffer more. Instead of taking steps to set right the issue, there is no point in blaming the Centre for the power shortage. The Centre has a coal stock of 2.2 crore tonnes,” he said. Pointing out that the state, which was set a target to produce 3.275 MW of solar energy, has so far managed to produce only 325 MW. “However in other states, there is no power shortage as solar energy is tapped in every household. Hence, the DMK should stop blaming the Union government and should focus on improving power generation,” he said. Stating that Tangedco is trapped in several lakh crore debts, the BJP leader urged the government to release a white paper on its functioning since the year 2006. Further, he also said that when the Governor himself is not given protection, how will the people in the state be safe?