Chennai: TVK govt has come under fire from opposition parties for its decision to purchase electricity at ₹35 per unit. Leaders from DMK, AIADMK, PMK and AMMK warned that the move would deepen the state power utility’s debt and eventually lead to privatisation. State law minister C T R Nirmal Kumar defended the move, saying it was only a temporary arrangement to prevent power cuts and the purchase would not make a huge dent on govt exchequer. However, the opposition hit out at the govt for its failure to anticipate the electricity shortage and take precautionary measures.“Tamil Nadu is buying electricity at high rates that no other state does. It shows how inefficient the administration of this dummy chief minister is,’’ said leader of opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin. He questioned if the electricity shortage was artificial.Was this power purchase deal the reason for creating an artificial power shortage all these days? He asked the “punch-dialogue” CM. He further asked if the CM “has flown to a neighbouring state to seal this corrupt deal.’’AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami demanded that the govt to roll back the decision. He said consumers who earlier paid ₹1,500 as electricity charges every two months were now paying ₹4,000, he said, warning that expensive power purchases would further burden public and increase the power utility’s debt.Former electricity minister V Senthilbalaji said TN’s share of power generated from its own sources had fallen from around 70% to 34-35%, forcing it to rely on costly market purchases. “This could push the utility’s debt from ₹2.4 lakh crore to over ₹5 lakh crore by the end of govt’s tenure,’’ he warned.AMMK leader T T V Dhinakaran, DMDK leader Premallatha Vijayakanth, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss also criticised the move. BJP has also echoed the same.However, minister Nirmalkumar defended the state’s decision to buy 1,500 MW of power from the open market to meet the peak-hour demands between Oct 15 and 31. “It was aimed at preventing widespread blackouts during peak hours,’’ he said.The minister attributed the power deficit to poor wind generation, El Niño conditions and supply disruptions. “State demand has shot up to 21,700 MW, compared to 16,800 MW last year. Meanwhile, the state lost 1,850 MW expected from NLC through the central grid, and wind power generation plummeted to just 500 MW against a contracted 3,500 MW,’’ he said.To bridge this gap, govt has floated tenders for 4,500 MW, deciding to acquire 1,500 MW based on price and availability, he said. Admitting that procuring gas-based power at ₹35 per unit will cost an extra ₹5 crore daily, the minister stressed that avoiding load shedding remains the administration’s non-negotiable priority.He blamed the previous DMK administration for failing to sign long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) over the last five years and said that the present govt promised long-term tenders for up to 5,000 MW alongside deals to add 6,000–8,000 MW of capacity by 2028–29.The minister also confirmed arrangements to secure 430 MW from Assam to manage festive demand during Diwali and Christmas.
