Chennai: TNPDCL (formerly Tangedco) has signed short-term power purchase agreements for a total of 3,910 megawatts (MW) daily in April to ensure uninterrupted power supply, especially during night hours. The utility secured 2,610 MW for 12 hours each day and an additional 1,300 MW for six hours daily.
The purchases are being made even though power demand in the state has not increased as much as expected due to rains and other reasons. Of the purchased power, 1,300 MW is for the period from midnight to 6 am to meet increased nighttime demand, and 2,610 MW is to meet the evening peak in power demand, which has extended up to midnight from 6 pm.
Electricity minister V Senthil Balaji recently said the discom would purchase 6,000 MW of power for April and May to meet the anticipated higher demand. The TNERC has approved TNPDCL’s petition to purchase additional power for these two months to avoid load-shedding scenarios.
Instead of continuous power purchases, the discom is opting for agreements covering specific high-demand periods, a TNPDCL official said. “During the day, we have solar generation. It is only during the non-solar hours that meeting the power demand will be a challenge, so we have signed agreements for those hours,” the official said.
TNPDCL anticipates a significant surge in power demand commencing after April 10, coinciding with the expected withdrawal of rains and increase in day temperature. For May, TNPDCL has limited power purchases until May 10, citing rainfall patterns from the previous two years.