CHENNAI: Tangedco is planning to install separate power transmission lines for agriculture services across the State at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore under the Centre’s revamped distribution sector scheme to improve operational efficiency and strengthen power infrastructure.
Currently, there are 23 lakh agriculture power connections in Tamil Nadu. A senior official of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) said, “At present, Tangedco uses same transmission lines to supply power to agriculture and domestic users. This leads to overloading, tripping of transformers, and power loss. To avoid these issues, we have planned to lay separate, dedicated power transmission lines from substations itself.”
Because of this ‘feeder segregation’, overloading problems could be identified easily and more transformers could be installed. Through this, Tangedco would also be able to avoid frequent power cuts and financial losses and reduce power thefts, another official said. He also pointed out that currently there is no mechanism to measure usage of power in agricultural services. After completing this segregation work, it would also be possible to calculate power usage accurately. Agricultural services would be solarized in the future to generate cheap and free daytime power for irrigation, he said.
“Rural Electrification Corporation and Power Finance Corporation are the nodal agencies to implement the scheme. Funds would be released in a phased manner. It is mandatory to complete all work before 2027. If Tangedco finishes the task within that period, 60% of the loan amount will be offered as subsidy. Otherwise, the power utility has to repay the full amount to these institutions,” the official said.