Minister for Electricity V. Senthilbalaji has said that steps are being taken to purchase 2,500 MW power to bridge the existing gap between the demand and availability of power generated by government-owned units.
Speaking to reporters on Friday after inspecting the Tuticorin Thermal Power Station (TTPS), along with Rajesh Lakhoni, chairman and managing director, Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation, he said the Electricity Department was being revamped as it was in shambles owing to 10 years of corruption and mismanagement.
Since most power projects announced by the AIADMK regime in the last 10 years remained only on paper, the gap between the demand and availability of power had increased to 2,500 MW. This would be bridged by purchasing it from the market, he said.
While 1,000 MW of power will be purchased at a cost of ₹2.6 a unit, another 1,500 MW will be bought at a cost of ₹3.26 a unit. Steps are also being taken to improve the generation capacity of State-owned power generation units, he said.
Saying that 4.52 lakh farmers had registered for power connections, Mr. Senthilbalaji said 1 lakh power connections would be given during the current fiscal.
He said steps were being taken to generate 4,000 MW of solar power, and start power generation projects that were announced by the DMK between 2006 and 2011, but had been shelved by the successive AIADMK government. While asserting that complaints pertaining to ‘inflated power charges’ were wrong, the Minister said 98% of these complaints had been attended to the satisfaction of the consumers.
Minister for Social Welfare P. Geetha Jeevan was present.