TN's power demand down by 2,000 MW due to rains: Senthilbalaji

CHENNAI: Electricity Minister V Senthilbalaji on Wednesday said that due to the steps taken by the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (Tangedco), there was no power interruption due to heavy rains in Tamil Nadu.

"Following the meteorological department's warning of heavy rains in parts of the State, the Chief Minister directed us to ensure uninterrupted power supply by taking precautionary measures. We held a review meeting on the steps to be taken. Due to rain, there was no power interruption in any part of the State," he told reporters after inspecting the State load dispatch centre at Tangedco.

He, however, said that due to widespread rain, the power demand has come down from 14, 431 MW on Tuesday to 12,400 MW on Wednesday. Of the 12,400 MW power demand on Wednesday, the wind mills contributed 4,100 MW and solar 2,250 MW, he added.

The Minister said that due to the steps taken by the government, the wind energy generation has increased from 12,555 Million Units (MU) in 2020-21 to 13,120 MU in 2021-22 while the solar generation gone up from 6,115 MU in 2020-21 from 7,205 MU in 2021-22 with the Tangedco absorbing all the generated energy. "The State's energy requirements which is increasing every year has reached an all time high of 1.17 lakh MU in 2021-22 as against 1.06 lakh in 2020-21," he noted.