Reallocate 1700 MW to Tamil Nadu: Jaya to PM

Chennai, Oct 24: In view of the acute

shortage in

, Chief Minister J

has urged the Centre to reallocate over 1700 megawatt (MW) that is not required by the Delhi government at present.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the CM noted that "The Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi has proposed to surrender power from various Central generating stations for the period from Nov 1, 2012 to Mar 31, 2013 for a quantum of 230 MW round-the-clock (00.00 to 24.00 hrs) and 1491 MW during 00.00 to 06.00 hrs."

Citing the request put forth by Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd (TANGEDCO) to the Union Power Ministry, Jayalalithaa said that the 1721 MW should be provided to the state and a corridor needed for transmission of the entire quantum of power must be arranged on priority basis.

As for the shortfall of 4000 MW in the state, the CM rued that the gap between demand and supply is the "highest" in south India. Jayalalithaa pointed out that the consequent load shedding is "causing severe hardship to consumers".

With their profits plunging due to prolonged power cuts, thousands of small and medium scale industrial units in Tamil Nadu had to be shut down over the last few months.

Agriculture was among the "worst hit" sectors because of deficient rainfall during the South West Monsoon and as a result food production has declined, Jayalalithaa said.

Referring to her previous letters in which she had appealed for 1000 MW, the CM rued: "However, a meagre quantum of 100 MW alone was allocated to Tamil Nadu. Even out of this quantum, only about 78 MW is being made available to the state."

She reminded the Prime Minister that "the deficit situation in Tamil Nadu has been aggravated due to corridor congestion and I have repeatedly requested your urgent intervention to ensure the required quantum of 1000 MW of power transmission capacity is made available to enable Tamil Nadu to receive the power contracted by TANGEDCO."

OneIndia News