Tamil Nadu barred from buying power, faces outage risk

CHENNAI: Thirteen states, including Tamil Nadu may face power outages with the Power System Operation Corporation Ltd (POCOSO) banning them from buying and selling on exchanges till they clear dues to power plants.

The discoms cumulatively owe Rs 5,000 crore to generation companies; Telangana leads the list with Rs 1,380 crore, followed by Tamil Nadu with Rs 926.16 crore.

In a first, the grid operator invoked the Electricity (Late Payment Surcharge and Related Matters) Rules, 2022, to penalise discoms by disallowing them from buying additional electricity from alternative short-term sources.

For Tangedco, the ban came at a time when wind power generation has fallen drastically.

The State met the peak demand of 15,954 MW on Wednesday by buying 2,115 MW from exchanges.

But Tangedco sources said they have made arrangements to pay Rs 700 crore through banks while the remaining Rs 226 crore would be settled in two days, and ruled out shortage due to the ban.

“We will be able to manage the demand,” sources added.

In terms of daily energy consumption, the State’s requirement stood at 353 million units, including 27 MU procured through the power exchanges.