The Tamil Nadu government will spend Rs. 5,284 crore on strengthening power distribution and transmission infrastructure, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa informed the Assembly on Thursday.
Making a suo motu statement, she said 60 new sub-stations and 2,500 km of high-tension transmission lines would be created. To shore up the power infrastructure in Chennai city, two more 230-KV sub-stations would be established at West Mambalam and Porur at a cost of Rs. 338.08 crore. A 400-KV sub-station would come up at Kamudhi in Ramanathapuram district at a cost of Rs. 435.50 crore, and another costing Rs. 47.51 crore would be established at Muthuramalingapuram in Virudhunagar district. These would be used to uplink the solar power generated in the district to the State grid.
28,000 transformersTo strengthen the power distribution system, 28,000 transformers would be procured and installed at a cost of Rs. 660 crore during the current financial year, Ms. Jayalalithaa said. Ten lakh new connections would be given.
A sum of Rs. 120 crore was allotted for renovating and increasing the installed capacity of the two units of the Sholayar Hydro Electric Project Phase I. Consequently, their installed capacity would go up from 35 MW to 42 MW.
The Chief Minister said the State would get 2,000 MW more, including from the thermal and atomic power plants to be commissioned this fiscal. The State would get 1,000 MW from the long-term power purchase agreements from this August. It was already getting 224 MW. The agreements were for purchase of 3,330 MW over 15 years from 2014-15. The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) would get the balance from 2015-16.
The third unit of the 500-MW Vallur Thermal Power Project, a joint venture between the Tangedco and National Thermal Power Corporation, would start commercial production by August.
While Unit I of a power project, a joint venture of the Tangedco and the Neyveli Lignite Corporation, would go on stream by October, Unit II of 500 MW would start production by March next. From these projects, Tamil Nadu would get 387 MW, the Chief Minister said.
From the first unit of the Kudankulam project, the State was getting 562 MW, including the Centre’s unallocated share of 100 MW. The second unit was likely to start commercial production by the year-end, and from it the State would get 463 MW.
The two units of the Neyveli Lignite Corporation Expansion Project Phase II would start commercial production in the current fiscal to yield 230 MW to the State.
