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The Hindu
26-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Kathirimalai, remote hamlet in Erode, to receive power supply soon as tender process completed
A long-awaited project to bring electricity to Kathirimalai, a remote hamlet in Erode district, is set to begin soon, as the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL) — formerly known as the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) — is in the process of issuing the work order to the contractor. Work is expected to commence within a month and be completed in three months. The remote hamlet can be reached only after a 9-kilometre trek across rough terrain from Kathiripatti, located at the foothills in Kolathur block of Salem district. About 82 km from Erode, Kathirimalai is home to 76 families comprising 267 individuals from the Solaga tribal community. The hamlet is situated at an elevation of 1,052 metres in the Chennampatti forest range within the Erode Forest Division, under the jurisdiction of Bargur Panchayat Union in Anthiyur taluk. In 2018, the village briefly received solar-powered lighting, with each household being provided two bulbs. However, most of the batteries have since become non-functional, leaving the village in darkness after sunset. The lack of electricity and motorable roads has posed serious challenges for residents, especially students and during medical emergencies. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, during his visit to Erode on December 20, 2024, announced the electrification of the hamlet at an estimated cost of ₹2.50 crore, which was later revised to ₹3.25 crore. Following this, tenders were floated, and a contractor was recently finalised. A senior engineer at the Gobichettipalayam Electricity Distribution Circle told The Hindu that 300 electric poles would be erected from Kathiripatti at the foothills to the hamlet, covering a distance of 8.34 km. Since there is no nearby sub-station within the circle, power will be drawn from the Sathya Nagar sub-station in Kolathur. The official added that household connections will be provided based on applications submitted by residents. 'The contractor is expected to begin work within a month and complete it in three months,' the official said. Transporting the poles and other equipment to the site will be a major challenge due to the absence of a motorable road. A single-layer water-bound macadam road, laid in 2022 at a cost of ₹1.47 crore through forest clearance, has suffered extensive damage due to rainfall and other environmental factors, further complicating access to the hamlet.
Time of India
25-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Draft policy eases green targets
Chennai: TNPDCL and other private power producers may soon get relief from some of their green energy obligations. A new draft amendment has proposed lowering the mandatory purchase targets for wind and hydro power. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now These changes are part of Centre's 2023 policy on Renewable Power Obligations, which aims to reduce carbon emissions and promote green energy. The policy requires power firms, including private and industrial users, to buy a fixed percentage of renewable energy based on power use. Currently, TN's regulations require TNPDCL to buy 3.36% wind and 1.48% hydro power by 2025-26. These targets would rise to 6.94% and 2.82% by 2029-30. However, under the draft amendment, the targets for 2025-26 have been reduced to 1.45% for wind and 1.22% for hydro, applying only to projects set up after March 2024. Proposed changes allow more flexibility. If there's extra green power in one category, it can be used to cover shortfalls in other categories. Nonetheless, the total renewable power obligations remain unaltered. For 2025-26, the RPO target for TNPDCL is 33.01%, which would go up to 43.33%. However, TNPDCL officials state there will still be a deficit in meeting RPO obligations as overall target remains altered. "The deficit widens from 3.55% for 2025-26 to 11.14% for 2029-30. Over the next 10 years, we need to add 15,000MW apart from the projects that are already in the pipeline in order to meet the RPO targets," said an official.
New Indian Express
21-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Domestic users won't have to pay higher power tariff: Tamil Nadu minister SS Sivasankar
CHENNAI: Electricity Minister SS Sivasankar on Tuesday said Chief Minister MK Stalin has advised that the power tariff of household consumers is to be maintained at the current rate when TNERC issues an order revising the tariff. He further added the CM has asked for the continuation of all free and subsidy schemes that are in place at the moment. This would mean that the state government would absorb the tariff hike for household consumers, which is likely to increase the tariff subsidy provided by the state government to the financially ailing Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL). The tariff subsidy provided in 2024-25 to TNPDCL was Rs 15,772.21 crore. In 2023, the state government fully absorbed the tariff increase of 2.18%. This led to the tariff subsidy going up by nearly 25% from Rs 12,069.97 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 14,976.42 crore in 2023-24. In 2024, the government partially absorbed the increase of 4.83%, resulting in a marginal increase in tariff subsidy of around 5%. Sivasankar's statement came in the backdrop of the anticipated annual automatic tariff revision that will come into force from July 1 every year until 2026-27, once TNERC issues orders. The revision is linked to the Consumer Price Index based retail inflation for the country for April month of respective year with a cap of 6%.
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Power tariff may increase by 3.16% from July
Chennai: Power tariff in the state is likely to increase by 3.16% for all categories of electricity consumers, including households, in line with the recently released consumer price index (CPI). It will be effective from July 1. This will be the fourth consecutive annual revision of electricity tariffs in the state. The Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) has been revising suo motu the power tariffs every year since 2022 based on the latest consumer price index as part of the multi-year tariff formula for five years, as decided in 2022. Domestic consumers who were paying 1,000 as power bills on average last year will pay 31.6 extra. Similarly, power consumption charges and fixed charges for common supply services in apartments and multi-tenement buildings will also increase by 3.16%. The tariff revision will also apply to high-tension consumers such as industries and other low-tension consumers. Even though the tariff revision has been capped at 6%, the tariff was increased by 2.18% in 2023 and 4.83% in 2024. In 2023, the entire hike for domestic and a few other categories was absorbed by the state govt, and the power utility was compensated by way of subsidy. However, in 2024, the state govt proposed to release an additional subsidy in proportion to the 4.83% hike to domestic consumers, by which the domestic consumers were partially relieved of the burden of the hike last year. Sources in both TNERC and TNPDCL played down the annual tariff revision proposal, saying there is still time to decide on the tariff revision. The state govt is expected to formally intimate the discom as well as the regulatory body of its plans to either fully or partially subsidise the hike in the coming weeks. It may be noted that the electricity tariffs were revised last year on July 11, effective from July 1, after the Vikravandi bypoll for the legislative assembly seat was completed.
New Indian Express
05-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Discom spent additional Rs 13K crore to buy more power than okayed in '23-24
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL) purchased 82,906 MUs of electricity at a cost of Rs 55,754 crore in 2023-24 while Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) had approved the purchase of only 73,730 MUs for Rs 42,575 crore. This resulted in an excess procurement of 9,176 MUs and an additional expenditure of Rs 13,179 crore. According to the recent True-Up order given on April 30, the discom was allowed to purchase 40,686 MUs from central generating stations but managed to get only 37,661 MUs. On the other hand, it exceeded the limit in other areas. While TNERC had approved 1,961 MUs from independent power producers (IPPs) at Rs 1,094 crore, the discom purchased 4,236 MUs at Rs 2,938 crore — an additional expenditure of Rs 1,844 crore. Similarly, in the case of power exchange purchases, TNERC had given permission for 4,428 MUs at Rs 4,170 crore. But the discom procured 8,606 MUs for Rs 7,953 crore. The commission has raised concern over the sharp rise in power purchase cost, saying it does not match the values approved in the previous tariff order. Responding to TNERC's queries, TNPDCL said the increase was mainly due to a revision in fixed charges by central generating stations and a hike in energy charges passed through by the generators.
