Load shedding back in Tamil Nadu's central districts

Power supply curtailed for about five hours in a day

Taking consumers by surprise, the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) has started resorting to load shedding again in the Tiruchi region covering eight central districts over the past few days.

Load shedding is being enforced in two two-hour spells during the day and for about 45 to 60 minutes during the night.

Tangedco officials confirmed that four to five hours of load shedding was being enforced in the region.

However, the situation was dynamic and the load shedding duration was being curtailed depending on availability of power on any given day.

Temporary

Describing the move as a temporary measure, a senior officer of the Tangedco in the city attributed the position to certain problems in power availability.

The wind season has come to an end. As the monsoon has been poor so far, the demand has not come down as expected. The power demand in Tiruchi region continues to hover between 1,300 to 1,500 MW.

“We are trying to enforce the load shedding without much inconvenience to the consumers and the night load shedding is kept to the minimal. We are hoping for an improvement in the situation soon,” he said.

HT-users not spared

While the load shedding is applicable for high-tension users also, the officer said three-phase power supply continues to be provided for 12 hours for agricultural connections in the delta districts.

For domestic consumers, the return of load shedding normally associated with summer has come as a shock. “Since there was no load shedding for about two to three months, we were not expecting power cuts in the winter when normally people do not use air-conditioners,” said R. Gopalakrishnan, a city resident.

Inverter days

With inverters becoming an essential device in most middle class homes after the power crises over the past few years, the load shedding has not yet been taken notice of seriously.

“Although we manage with the inverters, we hope the situation is set right quickly and not allowed to get worse,” Mr. Gopalakrishnan said.

However, for low-income group families, the power cuts pose a problem.

“Right now, the problem is the mosquito menace. Without fans, it is difficult to keep the mosquitoes at bay,” said Vijaya, a housewife.

As the power situation had improved in the recent past, some families did not maintain the inverters properly.