CHENNAI: Grappling with a huge debt pile, Tamil Nadu’s power generation company is making a sincere effort to bring down losses. The long-pending split of Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) is underway, but it faces big challenges amid a spike in electricity demand from across the state.
Some big announcements on solar parks and the flue gas desulfurization (FGD) project still remain on paper. Despite Tangedco’s efforts, which saw the issuance of over 50 tenders for FGD installation, the project is yet to take off.
As per the union government’s revised environmental norms, during the budget session 2022-23, the minister had announced the installation of FGD in all five Tangedco-owned thermal power stations at the cost of Rs 2,350 crore. Its plans to build solar parks in all districts with a combined capacity of 6,000 mega-watt (MW) and storage capacity of 10,000 MW are also to take shape.
Speaking to TNIE, experts reiterated the urgency of adequately funding Tangedco in order to help it address escalating power demands and prioritise renewable energy initiatives. The revised Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) through various renewable energy sources is 43.33% and it should be achieved by 2029-30. As of now Tangedco’s RPO stands at 22% alone.
“As per the union government’s instruction, the power utility plans to enable 15 lakh consumers to participate in the solarisation task. The Power Grid Corporation is the whole authority for implementation. We are yet to receive the guidelines for it. We expect that the Power Grid Corporation can release the course of action within a week. After that, we will decide the implementation task,” a senior official told TNIE.
A discussion is currently on to frame state-level policies for solarisation. K Kathirmathiyon, secretary of Coimbatore Consumer Cause, an organisation that works to create awareness among consumers, highlighted the importance of leveraging solar power initiatives, citing the recent announcement by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the Pradhan Mantri Suryoday Yojana scheme that aims to provide up to 300 units of free electricity per month through rooftop solarisation to one crore households across India. Tangedco should outline its strategy for implementing the task, he said.
Kathirmathiyon also requested that the state government to introduce incentives to beef up solar generation. “Most consumers end up waiting for more than 30 days after submitting applications for new connections. Besides, the defective meters are also causing major problems.”
E. Naratajan, state general secretary of the Bharathiya Electricity Engineers Association, also urged the state government to build solar parks in all districts of the state. “After assuming charge in 2021, electricity minister V Senthil Balaji announced in the assembly that they would build solar parks with a combined capacity of 6,000 MW. As of now, the state’s power demand is increasing gradually with the growing population and industrial activities.”
Another Tangedco official said, “The power utility planned to adopt the DBOOT scheme (Design, Build, Own, Operate, and Transfer) for the solar park project.”
“We identified land in six districts to install solar modules. A few investors have also come to execute the project. But due to some official reasons, we were unable to tie up with them. However, steps are being initiated to build solar parks in some districts,” the official said.
The state government already clarified it believes it will not establish multiple distribution companies (discoms). Most states with a single discom model have achieved similar operational efficiency compared with states having multiple discoms.
At the same time, the union government has instructed all distribution licencees to set up multiple discoms to provide better services to consumers.