New power projects for a generation capacity of 4,100 mw are proposed to be set up in Tamil Nadu . The projects include 500 mw each in North Chennai, Mettur and Kuntha projects, 1,000 mw in Tuticorin and the 1600 mw joint venture project of TNEB and BHEL at Udankudi (Tuticorin district), state electricity minister Arcot N Veerasamy said here on Monday.
Addressing a meet with industrialists to discuss the power situation in the state, he said, the present power shortage was owing to the deficit of 1000 mw from the Central pool and the drop in generation by wind mills by 1500 mw.
The expansion of power generation capacity in the state had not been in tune with the growth in various sectors and the demand for power, he said. During the last 10 years, the demand for electricity has been growing at the rate of 400 mw every year. But there had been only a capacity addition of 531 mw during this period, he said.
In recent months, with the increase in industrial investment in the state, the demand for electricity had gone up by 600 mw to 700 mw. “Owing to these factors, the state has been facing a power shortage now,” the minister said.
Since it would take at least thee years for the new projects to be on stream, the minister was seeking proposals from the industrialists to face the present power shortage, an official release said.
Meanwhile, faced with impending acute power shortage, Tamil Nadu has requested the Centre to allocate 500 MW from the unallocated share, besides negotiating with eastern states to draw 300 MW of surplus power from them.
The state is facing an immediate power shortage of 700 MW, Veerasamy said.
To tackle the power crisis, the state government was also holding talks with states like Assam and Haryana to draw 300 MW of power and an agreement would be reached by this month end. The state had also sought 500 MW from the Centre’s unallocated share till May 2008 as a special allocation.
Referring to reports that power generation in two units of Koodankulam atomic power station would be delayed by a year, he said Tamil Nadu had written to the Centre to expedite the process as the state would get a share of around 450 MW.
He said the Centre had taken steps to set up two ultra mega power projects with a combined capacity of 8000 MW at Marakkanam and Cuddalore in the state at an investment of Rs 32,000 crore. The state had demanded 50% share from the power generation, he added.
?PTI