CHENNAI: Despite Electricity Minister C T R Nirmal Kumar denying widespread power outages at a recent press briefing in Chennai, residents, small industries and farmers in several parts of the state continue to report frequent and prolonged interruptions, raising concerns over the ground situation.
In Chennai, several residents complained of voltage fluctuations during the night. A resident said attempts to contact Minnagam, the discom’s complaint centre, often resulted in a busy line. M Ravikumar of Velachery said there were hardly any outages in the area, but voltage fluctuations have become frequent in recent days.
TN Small and Tiny Industries Association president S Vasudevan said the association has received power-related complaints from several districts, including Coimbatore, Villupuram, and Tiruvallur.
“Even a brief interruption [in power] can bring an entire unit to a halt. Frequent power cuts are making it difficult for industries to maintain operations,” he said, adding that HT consumers at Tindivanam Sipcot have been facing outages for nearly four years due to inadequate infrastructure.
S Rajendran, manager at a private fabrication unit in Tiruchy, said, “Industries are forced to halt machinery and restart operations, resulting in production losses and delays in meeting orders. Units dependent on generators also incur additional expenditure on fuel.”
Meanwhile, frequent outages in parts of Tiruchy prompted several residents to stage protests recently. R Kavin of Manapparai said interruptions, especially at night, have disrupted household activities and caused hardship to elderly persons. Electronic appliances were also damaged due to fluctuations in voltage, he added.
In Madurai, residents of Melur and Kottampatti reported three to four outages daily for the past three weeks. Local officials pointed to supply shortage and technical issues as the causes.
At Kappalur Industrial Estate, unannounced outages lasting up to two hours have disrupted manufacturing, said Kappalur Industrialist Association president P N Raghunatha Raja. Plastic, moulding, and textile units require uninterrupted power, he said, adding that an hour’s outage could cause production losses and wastage.
Farmers in Lalgudi have also been affected. V Annamalai said outages have disrupted irrigation of samba nurseries and banana plantations dependent on borewells and damaged several motors.
A senior TNPDCL official attributed the situation to power consumption being higher than the projected demand. Power consumption stood at 436.97 million units on September 1, against 375.68 MU on the same day last year — an increase of 61.29 MU. On September 2, consumption touched 457.18 MU, around 70 MU higher than the corresponding day last year.
The state witnessed a record consumption of 475.447 MU on July 17. The TNPDCL official said the demand is yet to ease, but the situation is expected to normalise during the first week of October.