Mumbai, Sept. 3 -- Tamil Nadu's chief minister announced on Monday a Rs 556.28 billion, in power infrastructure to meet the State's growing electricity demand. The package comprises transmission network upgrades, a 1,600 megawatt (MW) supercritical thermal power project at Thoothukudi and distribution improvement works in Chennai.
Under the Tamil Nadu Transmission Improvement Scheme the government will establish 196 new substations and lay 15,000 km of new transmission lines while strengthening existing lines. The measures are intended to modernise the grid and support rising consumption driven by industrial growth and urban demand. Officials said advanced technology will be applied across generation, transmission and distribution.
The plan includes a new supercritical thermal plant at the Thoothukudi thermal power station (TPS) complex comprising two units of 800MW each to be developed under a public?private partnership at an estimated cost of Rs 20,800 crore (Rs 208 bn). The existing Thoothukudi TPS, commissioned in phases from 1979, has five coal-based units of 210MW each with a total installed capacity of 1,050MW. The government intends to phase out older units and replace them with higher efficiency supercritical technology to meet environmental regulations and ensure reliable supply.
Tamil Nadu will also carry out distribution enhancement works worth Rs 1,762 crore (Rs 17.62 bn) in Chennai, including setting up 36 new 33/11 kilovolt (kV) substations, installing new distribution transformers and replacing damaged or ageing cables, conductors, pillar boxes and circuit breakers. Officials said these steps are aimed at strengthening the city network and reducing disruptions from monsoon flooding and peak summer demand. The state will continue to expand wind and solar capacity and deploy battery storage, but noted that thermal generation will remain important to secure uninterrupted supply.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Construction World.