Across the State, the duration of load-shedding is back to 12-14 hour cycles, raising prospects of a tough summer this year.
As usual, Chennai has been spared.
In many places, be it in Coimbatore or Madurai or Tiruchi, power cuts have worsened over the past one week with most areas going without power for at least 12 hours a day.
The situation is likely to turn from bad to worse in the coming days that will also see the commencement of Class X examinations.
About 10 days ago, load shedding used to be six hours a day. Breakdown in generation of two units, coupled with loss of generation of around 400 MW from the Central generating stations, has contributed to the latest spell of crisis, say power managers.
With the return of long spells of power cuts, life has once again become miserable for people in the State, except Chennai where the duration of load shedding is still two hours.
As always, officials claim the power situation will improve in a week. “About 1000 MW is expected from different sources,” says A. Thangavelu, Chief Engineer (Coimbatore), Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco). “Tangedco is making all efforts to buy power from multiple sources,” says a senior official in Chennai.
“At present, the entire 530 MW available to the southern region through inter-region corridor is being purchased by the Tangedco, which has actually tied up for 1,200 MW,” the official notes.
Meanwhile, the contribution of wind energy, which supplements the supply, is negligible at present. As generation from wind mills will peak only when the South-West Monsoon sets in by mid-May, the State may have to sweat it out this summer.
