CHENNAI: As temperatures rose in the state since late February, the total power consumption in a single day has already touched 400 million units on March 7 this year, which is more than a week earlier than last summer.
Tamil Nadu’s consumption on March 7, 2025, was 406.24 MUs. In contrast, the state reached the 400-MU mark last year on March 15, when the consumption was 417.98 MUs.
With the state already crossing the 400-MU mark twice this year, the state’s power utilities are gearing up for tackling record high demands for more number of days this summer.
In 2024, the highest daily consumption was 454.320 MUs on May 2, 2024, which was also the highest-ever. This year, the state is expected to surpass this mark latest by mid-April, officials said. In terms of demand, the last year’s peak of 20,830 MW was reached on April 30. The demand is likely to reach 22,150 MW this year.
According to the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited’s (TNPDCL) data accessed by TNIE, as of March 31, 2021, the power utility served around 3.16 crore consumers including domestic, agriculture, industries and commercial users. This has grown by 10% to 3.47 crore now. This has led to the annual rise of 6% in electricity demand, officials said.
The state’s power distribution network, including transformers, substations, and power transmission lines, has, however, not grown proportionately due to space and financial constraints, officials said.
A senior official said, “As of Tuesday, TNPDCL operates 4.17 lakh transformers statewide, an increase from 3.73 lakh on March 31, 2022. Over the past three years, only 44,000 transformers have been added, which is insufficient. The official emphasised the need to install at least 5% more transformers annually to meet the growing demand.”
Another senior official told TNIE, “TNPDCL procures 2,830 MW through the long term agreement, 64 MW through short term purchases. Additionally, the state receives 5000 MW as its share from the central grid, which plays a crucial role in preventing power cuts.”
The state also gets an average of 5,500 MW from solar power. With these sources, the demand until the end of summer can be managed, the official added.