Tamil Nadu Minister for Electricity P Thangamani has announced that there would be no power cuts during the summer this year as the state has sufficient supply of electricity.
Speaking at the inauguration of a power substation in Namakkal district on Thursday, the Minister said, “The summer season has begun and the usage of power has reached 15,000 megawatt (MW). We expect this to rise to 17,000 MW during the months of April and May. We are inaugurating such power substations in order to ensure uninterrupted power supply during such time. Even if it comes up to 17, 000 to 17,500 MW, we have sufficient power. Since Tamil Nadu has sufficient power supply, there is no chance of power cuts during the summer.”
The statement is likely to come as a relief to residents in the state, who regularly experience power outages in summer months. While some of the power cuts by TANGEDCO (Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation) are scheduled cuts, some are not. The problem is compounded during the sultry summer months.
According to a report in The Hindu, the Minister requested the public to work with the government in providing land for the use of projects such as the power station. As of February 2020, 119 power substations have been set up in the state while another 130 are in the works. They would be inaugurated by the end of the year, the Minister said, adding that the rate of setting up these power substations was higher than previous years.