“People must use electricity responsibly, which is very essential among the growing demands,” said P. Moorthy, Minister for Commercial Taxes and Registration, here on Saturday.
He was speaking at an event at Othakadai, ‘Olimigu Bharatham, Olimayamana Edhirkaalam,’ organised by the Power Grid Corporation of India and Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) as part of nationwide ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ initiative to commemorate 75 years of Indian Independence.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Moorthy said that the population is growing and new industries are cropping up to provide employment opportunities to young graduates across the State, and that electricity is quite essential in this regard.
He said that Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Minister for Electricity V. Senthil Balaji are making efforts to increase the power generation capacity from 33,000 megawatt to 70,000 megawatt to meet the growing demands.
“While farmers for many years were deprived of free electricity and were paying minimum charges for electricity, Mr. Stalin within a year of assuming office provided free electricity to one lakh farmers in the State,” said Mr Moorthy.
“I have often seen lights on in every room in a house–though I don’t know if there is need or not, all I am stressing is that we need to be socially responsible,” he noted.
“Sometimes, in villages, street lights would keep burning long after the sunrise without proper workers to switch them off responsibly,” cited the Minister. He urged officials to identify such spots in public and take steps to consume electricity consciously.
He also urged the officials to concentrate on providing electricity connections in rural areas, especially at night, without any hassles.
Collector S. Aneesh Sekhar said that life today cannot be imagined without electricity. “There is an exponential growth of data centres in our country that facilitate internet connectivity that requires a lot of electricity. While we are steadily moving towards using electric-vehicles, naturally we can expect many charging stations installed next to petrol bunks as well,” he noted.
TANGEDCO Chief Engineer S. Uma Devi, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited Senior Deputy General Manager K. Mani and others were present.
