Tamil Nadu Relaxes Norms For Private Power Producers

Chennai: Tamil Nadu government today said there have been no power cuts since June 2015 in the state, prompting it to relax a condition that electricity produced by private players in the state has to be sold only to it.

Stating this in the assembly, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa said the state had been receiving an additional 8432.5 MW of electricity in the last five years from various sources including from central schemes and solar projects.

"We have ensured a no power cut situation since June 2015. Therefore, the condition that power generated by private (companies) in the state should be sold only in Tamil Nadu has been removed," she said, replying to the motion of thanks to the Governor's Address.

Ms Jayalalithaa, who had made the power cut situation a poll issue in the 2011 Assembly election against the DMK, said no section in the state including industry, weavers and domestic consumers faced any more power cuts.

The state planned to add further 16,000 MW--13,000 MW in thermal and 3,000 MW in solar, in another five years, she said.

Ms Jayalalithaa said that during the DMK regime of 2006-11, power cut was experienced even in odd hours and that factories also faced long hours without electricity.

On the investment scenario, she said last year's Global Investors Meet had saw commitments worth Rs 2.42 lakh crore.

"Of this, Rs 23,258 crore has been invested through 54 companies and many are getting jobs," she said adding the rest were involved in work like land acquisition and resource mobilisation.

Even before the meet, 33 MoUs had been signed for investment proposals to the tune of Rs 31,706 crore, she said.

Further, her government had inked a pact worth Rs 202 crore with the Centre on establishing a Metro Blood Bank in Chennai, which will be helpful in upgrading blood banks and related services, the Chief Minister said.

The state had 288 blood banks and 434 blood saving centres, she said.