The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Power shortage will not hamper TNEB restructuring plan, says Veeraswami

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Tamil Nadu

Power shortage will not hamper TNEB restructuring plan, says Veeraswami

Special Correspondent

Centre not inclined to give further extension, the Minister says

CHENNAI: Power shortage will not have any bearing on the government’s plan to restructure the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB), Electricity Minister Arcot N. Veeraswami said on Saturday.

Asked whether the unbundling of the Board would be postponed in view of the problem, he replied in the negative and said that initially, the Transmission Corporation would be formed. The bodies for generation and distribution would also be set up. The TNEB Chairman would head of all these.

Even in June last, when the six-month deadline expired, the Centre was not inclined to give further extension, he said. (The latest deadline, set by the Union Power Ministry, will expire on September 24].

Mr. Veeraswami was addressing a press conference after chairing a meeting with industrialists on the power situation. Revenue Minister I. Periasamy, Backward Classes and Textiles Minister K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran, Principal Secretary (Energy), Smitha Nagaraj, TNEB chairman S. Machendranathan and Executive Director Shiv Das Meena attended the meeting.

On the present scenario of power supply, he said the situation had improved with the availability of wind power. Normally, a substantial amount of wind power would be available till October.

The meeting was called to find out the possibility of securing power from industrial units that were using captive power plants. On Monday, discussions would be held with representatives of such units individually. The Minister expressed the hope that all issues such as the subsidy to be given to the units would be resolved at Monday’s meeting.

As for the status of the ultra mega power project in the State, Mr. Veeraswami said the government would help to acquire land for the project at Cheyyur. It had given approval for establishing a captive port.

Asked whether the government would allot land to promoters of merchant power plants, he said the government’s policy was not to acquire land for the promoters.

Replying to another query, he said about 2,000 acres had been given to the Tridem company, which planned to set up a 2,000-megawatt plant in Nagapattinam district.

Referring to the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s demand for the resignation of the Chief Minister and the Electricity Minister over the power crisis, Mr. Veeraswami said power cut was nothing new to Tamil Nadu; it had prevailed when M.G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa were Chief Ministers. If there was a precedent of Chief Ministers and Power Ministers resigning, the demand would have some meaning.

On Bharatiya Janata Party State president L. Ganesan’s call for his resignation, the Minister pointed out that in the BJP-ruled Karnataka, there was 10 to 12 hours of load shedding.

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