CHENNAI: Electricity Minister Thangam Thennarasu, after submitting the first policy note for Tamil Nadu Power Generation Corporation Limited (TNPGCL) and Tamil Nadu Green Energy Corporation Limited (TNGECL), said the state government is forced to pay an additional Rs 22,000 crore in the current financial year 2024-25 due to the losses incurred by the power distribution company.
During a discussion on grants for the energy department, he said, “The union government strictly instructs providing loss funding to discom to get an additional 0.5% borrowing based on GSDP. If this is not done, an equivalent amount will be deducted from the borrowing ceiling fixed by the union government.”
Highlighting the rising power demand, Thennarasu said, “The state’s power demand is increasing every year. This year, the grid met a record demand of 20,830 MW on May 2, which is 7.32% higher than last year. Despite this, we supplied power without interruption.”
He also noted Chennai, with its industrial hubs, IT parks, and dense population, has a high demand for electricity. The city met a maximum demand of 4,769 MW and daily consumption of 101.76 MU on May 31 this year. “Power generation by TNPGCL’s five thermal power plants was 15,553.52 MU in 2020-21. This increased by 63.8% to 25,478.94 MU in 2023-24. As Tangedco increased its own thermal power generation, the need to purchase electricity from the market decreased,” said Thennarasu.
Discussing green energy plans, the minister said, “The government will devise plans to generate an additional 100 billion units of renewable green energy and make TN the leading state in the country by 2030. In 2023-24, a total capacity of 1,994.62 MW was added to the grid, and steps are being taken to encourage renewable energy generation.”