The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : State to add 2,000 MW in next Plan period

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 15, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

State to add 2,000 MW in next Plan period

Staff Reporter

The average energy shortage in the southern region is 1.5 per cent

REVIEW MEET: The Union Minister for Power, P.M. Sayeed (second from left), and the Secretary, R.V. Shahi (right), addressing the press in Chennai on Saturday. — Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has "responded positively" to the suggestion of the Union Ministry of Power that it add an additional 2,000 megawatt during the 11th Five Year Plan period.

Tamil Nadu, which plans to add one-fourth of the estimated 4,000 MW new capacity during 2007-2012, has agreed to double its capacity after the Ministry pointed to its likely growth-oriented demand, said Union Minister of Power P.M. Sayeed. The central generating stations would meet the remaining 2,000 MW.

"We impressed upon them the need ... 1,000 MW may not be sufficient for a growing State like Tamil Nadu ... and they positively responded," he told presspersons after chairing a review meeting on the power sector in the southern region.

Besides the Electricity Ministers of Kerala and Karnataka, senior officials of the Energy Department of Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Andhra Pradesh, Union Power Secretary R.V. Shahi, and officials of government undertakings attended the meeting.

The meeting, which Mr. Sayeed said was fruitful, focussed on the progress made in the power sector during the Tenth Plan, the measures needed to achieve the target and the strategy for the next plan period. He told the meeting that in 2004-05, there was a record generation of 587.3 billion units, 100.2 per cent of the target. The growth over the previous year was 5.2 per cent. In the current plan period, 90 per cent of the target for new capacity additions had been met. Only 47 per cent of the target could be met in the Ninth Plan period (1997-2002), as the preparations were not made on time.

He said the ministry was according "top priority" to rural electrification, one of the objectives of the United Progressive Alliance Government. It planned to provide electricity to the remaining 1.25 lakh villages and 7.8 crore rural households in five years.

Mr. Shahi said the implementation of the Accelerated Power Development Reform Programme, efforts to reduce financial losses and progress in the reforms sector were some of the issues that were discussed.

Underlining the need to start preparing the power sector's plans for 2007-2012, he said the average energy shortage in the southern region was 1.5 per cent, ranging from nil in Pondicherry to 4.5 per cent in Karnataka.

The demand for additional capacity during the 11th plan period was likely to be 9,000 MW in Andhra Pradesh; 6,000 MW in Karnataka; 1,000 MW in Kerala and 200 MW in Pondicherry. The States and the Union Territory agreed to get back to the ministry with their plans and schedules within a week. The ministry was keen on adding an additional 60,000 MW all over the country during the period.

Later, Mr. Sayeed called on DMK president M. Karunanidhi at his residence.

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