CHENNAI: The State power utility, Tangedco, has slashed its loss by Rs 2,193.68 crore in 2021-22 compared to 2020-21 by monetizing fly ash and waste ash and reducing cost of power generation at thermal plants owned by it.
According to a policy note presented in Assembly by Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji on Tuesday, the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation’s ((Tangedco) loss stood at Rs 11,213.64 crore in 2021-22, compared to Rs 13,407.32 crore in 2020-21.
A senior official said since the power production cost of Rs 3.70 per unit in North Chennai Thermal Power Station (NCTPS) was lower compared to Mettur (Rs 4 per unit) and Thoothukudi (Rs 4.15 per unit), Tangedco operated NCTPS stage I and II at 80% to 85% capacity, and operated other units at a lower capacity, to save production cost.
The official also said they stopped using Poompuhar Shipping Company and started fixing voyage charters with the help of a shipping desk to ferry coal. This helped Tangedco save Rs 2,200 crore. The power distributor also saved on interest outgo after the State government provided Rs 13,108 crore to take care of 100% of the loss incurred in 2021-22.
In Mettur Thermal Power Station (MTPS) stage I, revenue generated through sale of fly ash in 2021-22 was Rs 47.82 crore, which was more than `8.6 crore compared to 2020-21. The quantum of additional ash generated by MTPS stage II stood at 1,04,610.05 tonnes. During June 21, an all-time high of 78,841 tonnes of ash was sold to cement companies to generate Rs 4.85 crore revenue.
Energy generated from Tangedco’s own thermal units also went up in 2021-22. In its five power thermal stations — two each in North Chennai and Mettur and one in Thoothukudi — the quantum of power generated was 20,391.18 million units. This was 4,837.66 million units more compared to 2020-21.
Tangedco has also reduced the gap between Average Rate of Realisation (ARR) and Average Cost of Supply (ACS). During 2021-22, the ARR per unit was `6.96 while ACS per unit was Rs 8.90. The difference narrowed to Rs 1.94 compared to Rs 2.44 in previous financial year. The DMK government is also expected to go ahead with its plan to split the generation and distribution businesses managed by Tangedco between two different companies.