Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) has approached the state electricity regulatory commission for permission to procure an additional 1,500 MW of electricity through the central utility, Power Trading Corporation to meet the surging demand in the summer. The state’s average daily demand is expected to jump up to 17,000 MW in summer, up from around 14,000 MW now. It is necessary to tie up with private producers and electricity exchanges to meet the demand as the state continues to grapple with disruptions in fuel supply and technical snags in generation units, and stares at a drop in production. Recently, consumers were complaining about voltage fluctuations and power cuts. TANGEDCO has initiated a major drive to change transformers and improve the quality of electricity supplied.

But these measures are not adequate to solve the woes plaguing TN’s electricity sector. More than 11 years after the erstwhile Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) was officially split, it’s still under one umbrella. TNEB was reorganised into one holding company, TNEB Ltd, and two loss-making, debt-ridden subsidiary companies—TANGEDCO and Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation Ltd (TANTRANSCO). For some reasons, the latter is still part of TANGEDCO and doesn’t function as an independent body. Electricity distribution is not hived off into independent company.