Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation Limited (TANTRANSCO) has flagged the issue of the State Load Despatch Centre experiencing frequent outage of Neyveli Thermal Station-II units. The reason stated is boiler tube leakage and lignite conservation leading to shortage in availability and overloading, it said in a communication to the Southern Regional Power Committee (SRPC).
The Neyveli Thermal Power Station-II has a capacity of 1,470 MW, consisting of 7 units of 210 MW each. The power generated from the station is shared by Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
TANTRANSCO has sought a discussion on the sustainability of Neyveli Thermal Power Station-II generation from a long-term perspective at the meeting of the Operation Coordination Sub-Committee of the SRPC on May 11. The SRPC has told the State Load Despatch Centre to come out with supporting data and the Southern Regional Load Despatch Centre to analyse the issue with real-time operational data and present them at the meeting.
The State has met an all-time high demand of 19,387 MW and all-time high daily consumption of 415.37 million units on April 20. The peak demand is expected to cross the 27,000-MW mark in 2026-27.
According to the policy note of the State Energy Department for 2023-24, the State has executed long-term power purchase agreements based on the allocation of power from the central generating stations by the Union Ministry of Power. Agreements have been executed for 7,170 MW. However, at a time the peak availability is only 5,900 MW, it said.
