The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Integrated power bill payment system on the cards

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Sunday, Apr 20, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Integrated power bill payment system on the cards

Special Correspondent

It will allow consumers to remit charges in any TNEB office

CHENNAI: An integrated electricity bill payment system, that will allow consumers to remit the charges at any office of the Tamil Nadu State Electricity Board (TNEB) in the State, will be ready shortly, Electricity Minister Arcot N. Veeraswami said on Saturday.

Commissioning a 110-KV sub-station in Seven Wells near Mint, he said the unique account number of a consumer would soon be accessible from anywhere in the State. This would be the first integrated payment system in India.

Tamil Nadu is also the only State to install a centralised automatic power redistribution mechanism -- available only in the U.S. -- that reroutes electricity from areas of excess to places of deficit, he said.

New billing centre

A computerised billing centre in an area of 2,500 sq.ft and with 12 counters that will simplify remittances for an estimated 32,000 consumers was also opened. The Rs. 28-lakh centre was set up with MLA’s constituency development funds of Finance Minister K. Anbazhagan and MP C. Kuppusamy.

Mr. Veeraswami said the power sector had got the second highest budgetary allocation of Rs.24,000 crore. Among the projects being taken up on a war-footing was the commissioning of 900 sub-stations this year at an estimated cost of Rs.1,350 crore.

The number of sub-stations in Chennai would also go up from 140 to 152 in the next six months, he said.

A 600-MW power generation plant, with technical assistance of BHEL, is coming up in North Chennai at a cost of Rs.2,475 crore, the Minister said. Two more similar plants were proposed in Tuticorin and Mettur. A joint venture project involving the TNEB, NLC and the NTPC to generate 1,500 MW was also part of the plan.

Big plans

According to Mr. Veeraswami, Tamil Nadu was pursuing an ambitious plan to generate an estimated 7,800 MW of power in a phased manner that would help meet energy needs of consumers and industry and also contribute to the southern grid. The proposed development of seven ports and increasing their handling capacity would facilitate the import of resources such as coal for foreign investors keen on developing power plants.

Tamil Nadu’s energy road map and its performance on the power generation front have earned the approbation of the Centre, Mr. Veeraswami said.

Mr. Anbazhagan called for judicious use of electricity and to avoid wastage of the precious resource that had become a basic need as important as air or water. He noted that increased everyday use of electrical appliances had escalated the consumption of power.

L. Balaraman, member, advisory committee, of the Chennai Port Trust, spoke.

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