Tamil Nadu’s decision to buy 1,500 MW of electricity from the open market at up to ₹35 per unit has triggered opposition demands for a rollback, even as the state government says the temporary arrangement is necessary to prevent peak-hour blackouts during the festive season.
State law minister C T R Nirmal Kumar said the power would be procured between October 15 and 31, with the purchase determined by price and availability. He said the government had floated tenders for 4,500 MW to meet the shortfall and that the immediate arrangement would not make a significant dent in the state exchequer.
The minister attributed the deficit to weak wind generation, El Niño conditions and supply disruptions. State electricity demand has risen to 21,700 MW from 16,800 MW last year, while Tamil Nadu lost 1,850 MW expected from NLC through the central grid. Wind generation, which had been expected to provide 3,500 MW under contracted arrangements, fell to about 500 MW, according to the minister.
Nirmal Kumar said procuring gas-based power at ₹35 per unit would add about ₹5 crore a day to the government’s costs. He defended the expense as necessary to avoid load shedding during peak demand and said the administration’s priority was to maintain uninterrupted supply.
Opposition parties said the high-cost purchase would deepen the finances of the state power utility. AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami demanded that the decision be withdrawn and claimed that some consumers who earlier paid ₹1,500 every two months were now paying ₹4,000. He warned that expensive market purchases could place an additional burden on the public and increase utility debt.
Former electricity minister V Senthilbalaji said Tamil Nadu’s share of electricity generated from its own sources had declined from about 70% to 34-35%, increasing dependence on costly purchases. He warned that the utility’s debt could rise from ₹2.4 lakh crore to more than ₹5 lakh crore by the end of the government’s tenure. The claim was made as part of the opposition’s criticism of the procurement decision.
Leaders of the DMK, PMK, AMMK, DMDK and BJP also criticised the move. Opposition leaders argued that the shortage reflected inadequate advance planning and questioned why longer-term power purchase arrangements had not been secured earlier.
The government said the previous DMK administration had not signed long-term power purchase agreements over the past five years. Nirmal Kumar said the present administration had promised long-term tenders for up to 5,000 MW, along with plans to add between 6,000 MW and 8,000 MW of generation capacity by 2028-29.
The minister also said arrangements had been made to secure 430 MW from Assam to manage additional demand during Diwali and Christmas. The immediate 1,500 MW purchase is scheduled to cover peak-hour requirements from October 15 to October 31, while the longer-term tenders and generation additions are expected to address future supply needs.
