Load shedding would continue in all parts of Tamil Nadu except Chennai and its suburbs, Electricity Minister Arcot N. Veeraswami on Tuesday. “Only 11 districts in the State had good rain; the remaining districts got little or no rain. Hence, in the present circumstances, the rest of Tamil Nadu will face two hours of load shedding daily,” he told reporters.
He was here to address the eighth conference of the Southern Electricity Regulators’ Forum’s (SERF). Top officials of Electricity Regulatory Commissions of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka took part. Asked about the non-functioning of one of the four turbines at the Mullaperiyar dam for quite some time, he said repairs were under way and the turbine would start generating power in a month. Regarding the repeated requests of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) to revise tariffs, he said they had not been revised for the last seven years. It cannot be taken up at present due to “political reasons.” The matter would be considered at an “appropriate time,” he said.
On reports that power meter shortages were leading to delays in providing single-phase and three-phase connections, the Minister said that before the orders could be placed during the tendering process, some companies went to the Madras High Court. The judgment had come last month and orders had since been placed. Meters were being sent to various districts now.
Speaking about the unbundling of the TNEB, he said the Transmission Corporation would be inaugurated before December 15.
