CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Ltd (TNPDCL) has instructed field officers to reject new and pending applications for free electricity service to farming and allied activities if the applicant already has an off-grid solar-powered pump set for irrigation.
Even as the state govt has provided 1.69 lakh free service connections to farmers since 2021, around 3 lakh farmers are awaiting the free agri service, with seniority extending as long as 10 years. In the hope of getting free service someday, many farmers have either installed off-grid solar pump sets on their own or through the govt subsidy, while some farmers depend on diesel-based pump sets.
However, in a recent memorandum from the director of the TNPDCL, field officers have been instructed not to consider new and pending applications for free electricity service (LT-IV category) if the farmers already have off-grid standalone solar-powered pump sets erected on their own or with subsidy assistance from any govt agency.
TNPDCL has instructed that such applicants can only opt for the LT-IIIA(1) category, meant for cottage and micro industries, which are levied a tariff of Rs 4.8 per unit up to 500 units and Rs 6.95 per unit beyond 500 units, apart from the fixed charges of Rs 150 per KW of connected load. It also comes with a condition that the applicants should give an undertaking that they will never avail of free electricity service in the future.
P Muthusamy, TN Electricity Regulatory Commission’s former director, said that the memorandum is grossly wrong in three different aspects. According to him, Section 43 of the Electricity Act 2003 mandates that TNPDCL shall provide electricity supply on an application by the occupier of any premises, and therefore TNPDCL has no powers to deny agricultural service.
“TNERC too can decide on the periodicity for providing the agricultural supply but cannot deny it altogether. Secondly, a farmer cannot just stop farming and wait for many years just to get supply from TNPDCL. So, he opts for an off-grid solar pump set or oil-engine based pump set. So with this memorandum, TNPDCL has done a great injustice to the farmers of the state,” he said.
Muthusamy also points out that TNPDCL has effectively nipped the option of converting the existing power supply under tariff LT III A (1) into free supply when he gets the free supply as per the seniority. “It is another blow to farmers. It is in gross violation of the TNERC tariff order in force which permits such conversions. TNPDCL cannot take such a decision arbitrarily without the approval of TNERC,” he said.
P Shanmugam, a CPM leader and Tamil Nadu farmers association president, said the order will create inequality among farmers. “The state govt’s policy is to provide free power to farmers. But now making some farmers ineligible for free power citing investments they made on their own will go against the vision. The farmers would have either bought a loan or pledged their belongings to install the existing pump sets or pay the bills through their nose. The state should reconsider it as it has promised another 50,000 free services this year,” he said.
Free power to free farmers
The free electricity scheme for farmers was initiated in 1989-90 by the then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi with a vision to uplift the livelihood of struggling farming communities.
How much does it cost the state now
The govt provides free electricity to around 23.56 lakh agri service connections with a connected load of 1.8 crore in the state to carry out irrigation works, and Rs 7,280 crore was allocated in the agri budget earlier this year towards payment to Tangedco, the state-owned discom, for the free power. This works out to Rs 30,000 per connection in one year.