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Industries may be asked to reschedule weekly offs

Arcot N. Veeraswami

CHENNAI: Insisting that there is no need for enforcing power cuts in Tamil Nadu, Electricity Minister Arcot N. Veeraswami on Wednesday said he was planning to ask industries to reschedule their weekly offs as part of efforts to manage power shortage.

A meeting with industrialists to elicit their views will be convened on Friday.

Talking to newsmen after reviewing the performance of the Tamil Nadu Power Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation, he said that till May 15, the State had to depend on other States as the wind velocity was less during this period. With the onset of wind season, the State would be in a position to generate 2,500 MW of power through wind mills and the surplus power would be sold to Maharashtra and Punjab. From April, the State would buy 400 MW from West Bengal, Orissa and Assam, while a 100-MW captive power plant in Valuthur, Ramanathapuram district would become operational by March. The peak-hour demand in the State was 8,900 MW, while the availability was 8,600 MW. The State was managing the situation by resorting to one-hour load shedding in rural areas. During April-May, the requirement would be 9,300-9,400 MW.

Mr. Veeraswami suggested dividing the State into six zones with industries in each zone being asked to observe weekly offs for their establishments on six different days. “If the industrialists oblige, we can save on an average 350 MW of power. As of now, the power shortage during the normal and peak hours was 3 and 6 per cent respectively. I have asked officials not to resort to load-shedding after 6 p.m. on account of school exams,” he said. Mr. Veeraswami said there was no need for power cut in Tamil Nadu and ruled out the possibility of setting up separate firms for generation and distribution, as done by the neighbouring States since power plants were operating at a peak-load factor of 85 per cent.

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