The Hindu Business Line : No major power project likely in TN before 2011-12

11th Plan estimates
Peak demand has been put at 14,224 MW and availability at 9,923 MW.
Energy requirement is estimated at 87,222 million units and availability at 73,810 million units.
Capacity addition is estimated at 1,152 MW and the tentative share from Central generating stations at 3,081 MW.

— R. Shivaji Rao

A file photo of TNEB substation at Perungudi in Chennai.

N. Ramakrishnan

Chennai, Dec. 17 Tamil Nadu’s power position is expected to worsen by the end of the 11th Plan period with no major project expected to go on stream before 2011-12.

According to projections by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the State is likely to face a 30 per cent shortage in peak demand and a 15 per cent shortfall in energy availability.

At the end of the 11th Plan, the CEA has pegged Tamil Nadu’s peak demand at 14,224 MW and availability at 9,923 MW. Energy requirement is estimated at 87,222 million units and availability at 73,810 million units (MU).

Existing situation

The State’s peak demand now is 10,334 MW and availability 8,686 MW, a shortfall of 15.9 per cent while energy requirement is 44,174 MU and availability 43,230 MU, a deficit of 2.1 per cent.

The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board has said that it will be short of 1,000-1,200 MW of power during the summer of 2008. To overcome this, it would purchase power from Haryana and Assam and also ask for unallocated power from Central generating stations.

The CEA anticipates capacity addition in the State during the 11th Plan to be 1,152 MW and the tentative share from Central generating stations at 3,081 MW.

At an interactive session here last week, the CEA officials said Tamil Nadu would have to take advance action to tie up surplus power from other States.

Overall estimates

According to its estimates, the country will be marginally surplus in power at the end of the 11th Plan period. This is assuming that the capacity addition planned goes on stream as scheduled.

As per the projections, the peak demand at the end of the current Plan period is projected at 152,746 MW and availability 152,986 MW. The energy requirement is estimated at 968,659 MU and availability 1,022,705 MU.

At present, the country faces a 13 per cent deficit in peak demand and an 8 per cent shortage in energy availability. The peak demand now is 107,386 MW and availability 93,517 MW while energy requirement is 481,406 MU and availability 443,526 MU.

The CEA officials also advised the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board to ensure that surplus power from captive power plants is fully tapped to overcome the shortage. For this, the electricity board should make the tariff more attractive for those operating captive power plants to run the plants rather than shut them down.

Tamil Nadu now pays a tariff in the range of Rs 2.10-3.45 a unit. The CEA officials said it could reduce levies and duties for captive power plants on the line of those in other States so that cost of power produced by these plants comes down.

Installed capacity

According to TNEB officials, Tamil Nadu has 826 MW of installed captive power capacity, of which 651 MW is consumed by the operators themselves and the balance 175 MW sold to the electricity board.

The electricity board is considering waiving demand charges to the extent of unutilised demand and also exempt furnace oil used by captive power plants from value-added tax, which would reduce the cost of power from captive plants.

TNEB officials also said that the board had permitted the public sector Steel Authority of India Ltd to transfer 5 MW of captive power from its West Bengal unit to the Salem Steel Plant, for a week.

This was the first instance of inter-State transfer of captive power over such a long distance, the officials said.