TN will reduce country's power deficit by 50%: Minister

Chennai, Apr 12 (UNI) Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister Arcot N Veeraswamy today claimed that the state would produce 50,000 MW of power through various schemes, including Merchant Power projects, Ultra Mega Power projects and renewable energy sources.

Addressing a special plenary session on 'industrialisation and infrastructure,' organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here, he said ''when India's current power deficit is estimated to be 1,00,000 MW, Tamil Nadu alone would generate 50,000 MW to reduce the country's deficit by 50 per cent.

''So far, we have granted permission for 15 companies under Merchant Power project to generate 17,400 MW. An equal number of companies have come forward to set up their base to generate 14,600 MW of power. The state will grant its permission in a couple of months,'' he said.

Another 8,000 MW power would be generated through Ultra Mega Power project and the state government would set up its own power units to produce 7,200 MW, he said.

''Power thus generated will be sold to other states, after connecting the existing 66 KV, 110 KV and 220 KV transmission lines to Southern Grid in Bangalore. From Bangalore, the power will be distributed to Northern, Eastern and Western grids,'' he said.

Mr Veeraswamy said German firms had come forward to supply their latest equipment to India for producing power through solar energy at a lower cost.

According to him, it would cost Rs 22 crore to produce one MW of power in India, while with the help of the German equipment, the same quantity of power could be produced at Rs 14 crore.

He also claimed that Tamil Nadu would be the first state in the country to launch online billing system at a cost of Rs 778 crore.

About 90 per cent of the work has been completed for the purpose, he added.

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