CAG: buying costlier private power cost Tamil Nadu an extra ₹9,576 crore
The audit also flags coal purchases, unused material worth ₹2,020 crore at the Uppur project, and extra spending at North Chennai.
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Chennai: Buying electricity at a high price from private producers cost Tamil Nadu an extra ₹9,576 crore, the Comptroller and Auditor General has reported.
The CAG report placed in the Assembly points to extra spending on generation, thermal-plant maintenance, and coal purchases, among other causes.
As of March 2023 the state’s total capacity was 35,036 megawatts, while TANGEDCO’s own capacity was only 7,175 megawatts. The utility therefore had to buy power outside. The CAG says poor maintenance shut thermal units and pushed the utility to buy costlier private power. That alone accounts for the extra ₹9,576 crore.
Lower efficiency and problems in the ash-handling system at the North Chennai expansion plant caused a further ₹131.58 crore.
Extra spending on coal
Buying coal at a higher price to cover a shortage cost ₹3,941 crore. Leaving the coal pricing method unchanged cost ₹1,244.10 crore, and using lower-grade coal cost an avoidable ₹1,563 crore, the report says.
₹2,020 crore of material at Uppur
Material worth ₹2,020 crore bought for the Uppur thermal project in Ramanathapuram has sat unused for more than five years. Gas plants that burned more gas than the fixed quantity added ₹296 crore.
The CAG says preventive maintenance should raise the utility’s own generation, so that costly private purchases become less necessary, and that the price, quality, and supply of coal need closer watch. It also presses for a quick decision on the unused Uppur material.