The summer story of Tamil Nadu’s electricity demand

Tamil Nadu’s summertime vigor arrived with afloat unit this April, triggering an contiguous spike successful energy demand. The highest request touched 21,307 megawatts (MW) connected April 29. The aforesaid day, the State witnessed the highest powerfulness depletion of 471.45 cardinal units (MU). This year, summertime vigor has led to the request crossing the 21,000 MW regularly. Last year, the precocious request was little than the request of 2024. The maximum request recorded successful 2024 was 20,830 MW connected May 2, and the highest depletion registered was 454.32 MU connected April 30.

This twelvemonth though, determination person been nary large powerfulness cuts, arsenic is the norm erstwhile the request surges. However, determination are complaints of debased voltage and proviso disruptions successful respective areas of Chennai. The superior consumes astir 5,000 MW, and the maximum request peaked to 4,769 MW connected May 31, 2024.

Network upgraded

Over the years, powerfulness managers person commissioned projects to upgrade the transmission network. However, they accidental that contempt the upgrades, disruptions bash hap owing to glitches caused by the puncturing of underground cablegram networks oregon snapping of overhead cables.

A elder authoritative of Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation constricted (TNPDCL) says the powerfulness request this twelvemonth has breached the erstwhile maximum successful each the districts owing to the heat. But the energy section anticipated the request and prepared well: the State has an installed capableness of astir 40,000 MW, with 17,000 MW of thermal powerfulness and 13,000 MW of upwind and star energy.

In Chennai, radical successful the occidental suburbs of Avadi, Pattabhiram, Thandurai, and Thiruninravur person regularly been affected by debased voltage and disruptions. The residential localities successful Avadi, which was upgraded arsenic a municipal corporation, has grown successful the caller past. A connection was made for taking the overhead cables underground for residents of the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) flats. But the enactment has not been taken up. Consumer activistic T. Sadagopan says it has been much than 5 years since the enactment connected upgrading the 110-KV substation astatine Avadi to 230 KV started. But the task has been progressing slowly, resulting successful proviso disruptions successful the adjacent Pattabhiram and Thandurai. He points retired that though the 110-KV substation astatine Pattabhiram was opened successful 2007, betterment enactment has not been carried retired regularly. A large occurrence occurred astatine the substation, which disrupted the proviso astatine Pattabhiram for implicit 48 hours.

S. Dharanitharan, a nonmigratory of the TNHB locality astatine Avadi, says the Tidel Park astatine Avadi does not person a dedicated substation required to powerfulness the 21 floors. The Avadi-Poonamallee corridor has respective multi-storey apartments and gated communities. But the gated communities are yet to person substations and transformers, arsenic promised.

TNPDCL officials accidental they planned good by going successful for the acquisition of 1,500 MW of medium-term powerfulness to conscionable the peak-hour request and debar buying costly powerfulness from the exchange. The medium-term powerfulness accounts for 2,300 MW successful the disposable full vigor of 25,000 MW.

A elder authoritative of TNPDCL says, “Every year, we expect an summation of 5% to 6% successful demand; but this year, it has accrued to much than 7%.” In its report, the Central Energy Authority has projected that the State would scope the highest request of 21,959 MW. In anticipation, the TNPDCL installed substations successful the metropolis and connected the outskirts and besides converted the accepted transformers into 5,500 ringing main units (RMUs).

Substations established

The vigor section has established substations and upgraded the existing ones from Virudhunagar to northbound Chennai and Coimbatore for supplying powerfulness crossed the State. The 765-KV web would assistance minimise transmission losses, transportation powerfulness successful bulk, and guarantee reliable supply. Enhancement enactment has been carried retired astatine 7 of the 400-KV substations, 11 of the 230-KV substations, and 60 of the 110-KV substations.

In the Coimbatore region, covering Coimbatore, Tiruppur, and the Nilgiris districts, the request has touched an all-time precocious of 3,109 MW this year. The request successful summertime is usually beneath 2,700 MW. But it grew gradually each period this twelvemonth from 2,900 MW, and has crossed the 3,100-MW mark. The mean regular depletion besides peaked to 59.63 MU arsenic against 57.39 MU successful March. A important fig of upwind and star vigor plants successful the highly industrialised Tiruppur and Coimbatore districts has helped successful unchangeable and dependable proviso to the city.

In Erode, the mean request touched 1,000 MW a time this summer. The regular request during summertime averages retired astatine 800 MW successful Erode and Gobchettypalayam. TNPDCL officials accidental star powerfulness procreation supports daytime consumption, portion the summation successful the request astatine nighttime hours is being met with capable supply.

Namakkal residents are unhappy with the hold successful the completion of the 20-MW Kolli Hills Hydro Electric Project, estimated to outgo ₹338.79 crore. The instauration was laid successful December 2018. The commissioning was scheduled for April 2021. The enactment was held up by the COVID-19 lockdown, and it slowed down again thereafter. The task is inactive nether execution.

Solar vigor has travel arsenic a large alleviation for the energy section to negociate the peak-hour request successful the Tiruchi region, which consists of Tiruchi, Dindigul, Perambalur, Ariyalur, and Pudukkottai districts. The portion recorded the highest request of 1,760 MW successful the archetypal week of May. The request would usually beryllium hovering astir 1,500 MW-1600 MW successful April and May.

According to authoritative sources, determination are nary powerfulness outages successful the portion during the highest request season, but successful times of dense rain. Private star powerfulness units successful antithetic parts of the portion person helped the powerfulness managers conscionable the request astatine highest hours. “We person an installed capableness of 661 MW star powerfulness by backstage players. The agleam sunlight helped them utilise the infrastructure to maximise the output. It has helped america negociate the daytime powerfulness demand,” says a elder authoritative of the TNPDC successful Tiruchi.

Rain to the rescue

Even arsenic the powerfulness managers are assured of managing the request successful the delta districts, the spell of abrupt rainfall has helped to bring down the demand. With Southwest monsoon mounting in, the request volition dilatory travel down, the authoritative adds.

TNPDCL officials are besides hopeful that the upwind vigor procreation from an installed capableness of much than 9,000 MW, which has remained stagnant truthful acold successful May, volition prime up successful the coming months. The request successful Tirunelveli and Tenkasi districts, which person much than 15 lakh powerfulness connections, has touched 500 MW this summer. The redeeming grace is the proviso from the coal-based thermal powerfulness plants successful neighbouring Thoothukudi. These plants person capable ember stocks. Hence, determination is nary hindrance to the generation. The upwind powerfulness generators successful the confederate portion of Tirunelveli territory volition commencement generating from May-end, with the onset of Southwest monsoon successful Kanniyakumari territory and neighbouring Kerala, says a elder authoritative of the TNPDCL successful Tirunelveli.

Shortage of components

However, officials are disquieted by the shortage of components, including electrical poles and transformers, arsenic besides by a ample fig of vacancies for attraction workers. A elder authoritative of the Tiruneveli ellipse says much than 70% of the wireman and helper posts are vacant successful Tirunelveli and Tenkasi districts. But the section is managing the concern with the disposable manpower and declaration workers. However, immoderate hold successful filling these vacancies whitethorn origin issues successful sorting retired powerfulness interruptions, too gross loss.

Residents of Kanniyakumari privation the pumped retention task astatine Velimalai expedited. The authorities announced the task successful the 2025 Budget. As of now, lone the tender has been floated for enactment of a developer for the 1,000-MW/6,000-MW Velimalai Pumped Storage Hydro-Electric Project.

Total losses

The full losses of the energy section has crossed the ₹1-lakh  crore mark, and the load would lone crook worse, acknowledgment to the 200 units of escaped energy announced by the caller government, according to powerfulness managers. With the caller scheme, the yearly tariff subsidy for the home consumers unsocial is estimated to transcend ₹10,100 crore this fiscal year.

The State is known for its awesome show successful the quality improvement indicators. But it is near with a mediocre vigor assemblage caused by mediocre fiscal management. This has resulted successful the powerfulness assemblage depending connected grants and subsidies for procreation and transmission projects.

According to the Energy Department’s request for 2025-26 tabled successful the Assembly, the tariff subsidy and grants had crossed the ₹30,000-crore mark for 2024-25 and present basal astatine ₹31,849 crore. The subsidy and grants person tripled from ₹10,834 crore for 2016-17.

Revenue fix

Navneeraj Sharma, an autarkic consultant, says Tamil Nadu has the imaginable to go an “electro-State”, combining genuine concern extent with immoderate of the country’s strongest renewable vigor endowments. But its powerfulness assemblage is successful urgent request of a gross fix.

Mr. Sharma says the occupation for TNPDCL lies not successful providing escaped powerfulness but successful however poorly request forecasts, powerfulness acquisition plans, and tariff designs are being done. Errors successful load forecasting unit the discom to bargain short-term powerfulness astatine elevated spot prices, which translates into operating losses and a increasing dependence connected authorities funding. He adds that overmuch of the home tariff operation benefits middle-class and upper-middle-class households alternatively than those who genuinely request support. This makes the fiscal load harder to justify. He says that arsenic Tamil Nadu’s renewable vigor stock grows, close consumer-level information — peculiarly for agriculture — volition beryllium indispensable for credible semipermanent planning.

Power managers accidental that erstwhile the authorities allows large industries to acceptable up captive powerfulness units, the grid information gets worse. Big concern units debar paying the precocious concern tariff by establishing their ain captive units, leaving the smaller units to wage precocious charges. Time-of-day pricing that rewards load-shifting to star power-rich afternoons would springiness the manufacture a crushed to enactment connected the grid alternatively than permission it.

(With inputs from M. Soundariya Preetha successful Coimbatore, S.P. Saravanan successful Erode, Rohan Premkumar successful Udhagamandalam, M. Sabari successful Namakkal, C. Jaisankar successful Tiruchi, P. Sudhakar successful Tirunelveli, and B. Shankari Nivethitha successful Kanniyakumari.)