Kumari Palany & Co

Prospects power cut again in Tamil Nadu?

Posted on: 16/Oct/2018 4:11:10 PM
When the cyclone Titli crossed the coastal Odisha, a large number of electric towers were pulled down and thus, there is a situation that 1000MW of power to Tamil Nadu from Odisha is cut off at present.

Thus, a situation has arisen that there might be a necessity to impose power cuts till these electric towers in the state of Odisha are repaired and restored.

From the central electricity grid, daily 820MW of power is given to the state of Tamil Nadu from the Talcher power stations in the states of Andhra and Telangana and daily 483 MW of power is given to Tamil Nadu from the Talcher power station in Odisha. Apart from this, TANGEDCO is procuring electric power from private electricity sources located in Odisha and Chattisgarh.

The routes of transmission of power from the above sources to Tamil Nadu:

  • Andhra – Nellore – Sripreumbudhur in Tamil Nadu, through the 400kV transmission line
  • Odisha – Talcher (Odisha) – Kolar (Karnataka) – Vellore Thirumayam (Tamil Nadu) – 400kV transmission line
  • Maharashtra – Karnataka – Karnool (Andhra) – Thiruvalam – 765kV transmission line
  • Karnataka – Kolar – Krishnagiri - Hosur 400 kV transmission line
  • Karnataka – Bengaluru – Salem 400 kV transmission line

Out of the above, the transmission route Talcher – Kolar – Thiruvalam can directly Provide 2000 MW of power. Presently, 1000 MW is supplied to Tamil Nadu.

In the other transmission routes, through the state of Maharashtra-Andhra-Telangana, power is taken to several substations in those states and then segregated and transmitted to Tamil Nadu – thus, only a limited quantity of power is only transmitted to Tamil Nadu in this route.

In this situation, due to the recent devastation caused by the cyclone Titli when it crossed the Odisha coast, several electric towers were damaged severely and had collapsed. So, there is a situation when power cannot be taken from Talcher through this route. This has stopped 1000 MW of power reaching Tamil Nadu daily.

Also, just as the coal shortage caused the unannounced power cut, the prest situation also has created prospects of the power cut.

An official from TANGEDCO explained in the regard that supply of electric power to the southern states has been disrupted because of aftereffects of the cyclone Titli.

The 1000 MW transmitted daily to Tamil Nadu through Talcher – Kolar – Thiruvalam has been diverted to a different route. Though there are certain difficulties, uninterrupted power is being transmitted. Also, since it has been raining in several districts presently, the demand for electric power has not increased.

In case the rains stop, there may be a situation when there is no other alternatives except imposing power cuts till the transmission route from Talcher is repaired and restored.