‘Power position: Truth and Hoax played by Jayalalitha

Announcing the increase in duration of power cut from one hour to two hours a day in and around Chennai city from 27.6.2011, the ADMK government issued a seven-para statement on June 25, of which the first two paras stated:

“Within a month of assuming office, Chief Minister Jayalalitha is carrying out several works for streamlining power position in Tamil Nadu and liberate the state from power cut. In view of the future power needs of Tamil Nadu, the government led by Chief Minister Jayalalitha, on July 12, 2002 signed an MoU with National Thermal Power Corporation for setting up 2 units of thermal power plant of 500 MW each capacity at Vallur village in North Chennai.

Later its capacity was increased to 3x500 MW. After Chief Minister assumed charge, she ordered for early completion of this thermal power station works. Accordingly, all steps are being taken up to commence generation of electricity of the first unit of this thermal power station in December this year.”

There is many a slip between the first and second paragraph, giving an impression as if no work was carried out between May 2006 and April 2011 by the previous DMK government to execute the project envisaged by the previous ADMK regime. This was precisely the charge made by Jayalalitha while replying to the debate on Governor’s Address in the State Assembly. Countering it the former Chief Minister and DMK President Kalaignar issued a detailed statement only on June 17 which also stated among other efforts made by DMK rule to overcome the power problem, “Jayalalitha had also charged that had the DMK government followed up the efforts taken by her earlier regime to set up thermal projects at Vallur and North Chennai, power shortage would not have happened. The works for units 1 and 2 of Vallur Thermal Power Station at an estimated cost of Rs.8,000 were started on 13.8.2007 during DMK rule and works for the third station on 28.7.2009. The boiler for unit one was installed and installation of turbine was going on. Other than key electricity machinery the works for installing other machineries was carried out for the other two units.

The tender for buying key mechanical devices for unit 3 had been given to BHEL and works were going on. Units 1,2 and 3 would be linked to the grid in August 2011, October 2011 and September 2012 respectively and planned to bring into operation in October 2011, December 2011 and November 2012.”

Even after this counter if the ADMK regime had the audacity to repeat the same old lie, the media in TN as a whole chose to publish the trash in the form of government’s press release, dutifully without questioning the blatant fraud on the people. The same media in the past five years had published works undertaken for the project in different stages at different times. For instance, ‘The Hindu’ on December 29, 2008 published a four-column news the headline of which itself proclaimed, ‘Vallur Thermal Power project work in full swing’. It reads as:

“The work on the 1,500-megawatt Vallur thermal power project is in full swing. The site, located 40 km north of the city, is full of activity, with teeming workers, cranes, pile machines and concrete mixers working overtime to catch up with the schedule.

A joint venture between NTPC and the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB), the project will initially have two units of 500 MW each. In the second stage, one more unit of 500 MW will be established. Estimated to cost Rs.5,423 crore, the first stage will be completed by March 2011. The first unit is expected to be commissioned by October 5, 2010, and the second unit five months later.

When commissioned, Vallur will be the first major thermal power project to be established in the State after the North Chennai Thermal Power Project, which was completed during 1995-1996.

When the two stages are over, the State will get 1,125 MW (75 per cent of the 1,500 MW) at a tentative rate of Rs.2.72 a unit. The project is being implemented by the NTPC Tamil Nadu Energy Company Limited (NTECL), a special purpose vehicle. At present, the foundation for installing the turbine, boiler, chimney and electrostatic precipitator for the first phase is proceeding at a hectic pace.

According to NTECL officials, piling for the boiler unit has been completed. The construction work for piling for the chimney, electrostatic precipitator, mill and bunker units is in progress. A Board official said the original plan was to have only two units of 500 MW each. Subsequently it was decided to set up one more unit to reduce the project cost and ensure optimum utilisation of the resources. This project would involve Rs.2,577 crore.

An NTECL official says: “Normally a major bottleneck for such a power project will be getting a vast tract of land, with a lot of time wasted in acquisition process. Though land was acquired easily from the authorities, it was being used for making salt and prone to flooding, so there was delay in starting the civil work, as the site development work took more time.”

The financing has been based on a debt-equity ratio, with the debt component forming 70 per cent and the equity 30 per cent. While the Rural Electrification Corporation is taking care of the debt portion, the TNEB and the NTPC will contribute equally to the equity. So far the REC has committed itself to providing Rs.3,796 crore, equivalent to 70 per cent of the cost of the two units. (The funding for the third unit is yet to be firmed up).

A TNEB official said all clearances for the first phase, including the approval from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, have been obtained. For Stage II, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) conducted a public hearing in March this year, and the Ministry’s clearance is expected shortly. The TNEB has allowed the NTECL to use some of its resources, created for the North Chennai Thermal Power Project, for conveying coal and drawing seawater for cooling. The Vallur plant will have the zero per cent disposal system, under which an ash water recycling system will be installed. The effluent from the ash pond is circulated back to the station for further ash sluicing. This will help to save up on freshwater.”

On September 5, 2007 Union Power Minister Thiru Sushil Kumar Shinde laid the foundation stone for the project in the presence of then State Electricity Minister Thiru Arcot N.Veeraswami.

On August 14, another daily ‘The Business Line’ reported, “Inauguration of the work on the 1000-megawatt (MW) power plant at Vallur marked the commencement of a number of power projects aimed at generating 4,500 MW in the next four-five years. Mooted five years ago, the Vallur project is being executed by the NTPC Tamil Nadu Energy Company (NTECL), a special purpose vehicle floated by the NTPC and the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. Estimated to cost Rs. 5,400 crore, the project will benefit Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry, apart from supplying 750 MW to Tamil Nadu. It is planned to commission two units of 500 MW each at Vallur during the financial year of 2010-2011. Another joint venture project was a 1000-MW plant at Tuticorin, which received environmental clearance. Mooted by the Neyveli Lignite Corporation and TNEB, work on the project began in March, 2008.

In addition, one more 1000-MW plant is coming at Tuticorin. This will be established by the TNEB. A public hearing was held later as part of the process of securing environmental clearance. One 500-MW additional unit each at the North Chennai Thermal Power Station, Ennore, and the Mettur Thermal Power Station have been proposed, in addition to 500-MW pumped storage hydro electric project at Kundah in the Nilgiris. All these projects will be executed by the TNEB.

For the North Chennai thermal power station, bids have been floated. The deadline for submission of documents has been extended till the month-end. In the case of the other two projects, environmental and forest clearances are expected shortly. On receipt of the approvals, the tendering process will begin. It will be completed in six months. Considering an investment of Rs. 6 crore per MW (including transmission and distribution cost), the total cost of all the projects will be in the range of Rs. 25,000 crore-Rs.27,000 crore, the official adds.”

A PTI report on July 20, 2010 reported, “Steps were taken for the State to receive its share of 1,643 megawatt from power projects being implemented by the Central agencies during December 2010-May 2011. Chief Minister Kalaignar on July 19, 2010 gave this direction to government officials while reviewing the power position in the State.

The power projects were being executed in Koodankulam, Kalpakkam, Neyveli (all three in Tamil Nadu), Simhadri (Andhra Pradesh) and Kaiga (Karnataka). As for the projects of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB), the Chief Minister was briefed about their status. One unit of 600 MW of the North Chennai Thermal Power Station expansion project would be commissioned by May 2011 and another unit of 600 MW by November 2011. In Mettur, one unit of 600 MW would be ready by July 2011.

The first unit (500 MW) of the Vallur Thermal Power project, being implemented by the TNEB and NTPC, would be commissioned by October 2011; the second unit by December 2011 and the third by November 2012. Two units of 500 MW each of the Tuticorin project, being executed by the TNEB and Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC), would be ready between March and August 2012. The Udangudi power project of 1600 MW would become operational in three years. The bagasse-based co-generation projects would be completed by July 2011. The Chief Minister asked the officials to complete the projects expeditiously.

Boiler drum lifting, a major activity in the setting up of the first stage of the Vallur Thermal Power Plant, took place on April 30, 2009. The main plant package for stage-1 was awarded on August 13, 2007 to BHEL, which has commenced work. Erection of the boiler column began on January , 2010. Civil works for chimney and main plant are progressing at a fast pace.”

“The lifting and erection of the boiler drum for the first unit was accomplished on June 9. We will conduct the hydraulic testing by February/March as we are yet to receive some equipment required for the testing. The boiler drum for the second unit will be erected by December. The third unit has been awarded to BHEL as a separate package.” According to the official, it took three years to finalise legal and other modalities for commissioning the project. “As of now, we have problems only with the first unit. The second and third units will be on stream as per the schedule.”

On March 31, 2008 Chief Minister Kalaignar said power projects had a gestation period and one should not be under the impression that a plant, announced in the morning, would become functional by evening. Countering criticism that Tamil Nadu was reeling under darkness, Kalaignar said had the earlier ADMK government drawn up plans for power projects and executed them at the appropriate time, the State would not have faced the current situation. There was no point in shedding crocodile tears now, he told Jayalalitha. When the projects that have been drawn up are completed, Tamil Nadu’s power needs will be fully met, he said.

There were many schemes to spur industrial growth, he said. This was the reason why 13 large industrial units had decided to set up base in the State and invest Rs.17,563 crore. Memoranda of Understanding had been signed with these firms, which would employ more than 1.41 lakh people directly or indirectly.

Law Minister Thiru Durai Murugan asserted in the Assembly on May 6, 2010 that the State would be surplus in power during 2011-2013 as a number of generation projects, now under execution, would be commissioned.  Responding to the criticism of former ADMK Electricity Minister R. Viswanathan that the present government had neglected generation projects, the Minister said apart from pursuing the projects initiated by the previous ADMK regime, the DMK government had taken the initiative to execute several projects such as Mettur Thermal Power Station – Stage III (one unit of 600 megawatt); a joint venture project with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) in Udangudi (two units of 600 MW each); and a thermal power project in Kattupalli (1,600 MW).

Referring to the ADMK's contention that there was no power cut when it was in power during 2001-2006, Thiru Durai Murugan pointed out that the DMK regime, during 1996-2001, had implemented new power projects and closely followed up the implementation of many projects initiated by the ADMK in its previous spell (1991-1996). As a result, capacity addition of 1,197.57 MW was achieved. This was why there was no power cut during the subsequent ADMK regime.

The same person is also the Electricity Minister now and neither he nor Jayalalitha could point out any other power project conceived by ADMK regime, between 2001 and 2006, nor could deny the upcoming power projects initiated by the previous DMK government which would make Tamil Nadu power surplus.

A report in the Financial Express on March 2, 2009 under the headline ‘New projects to make Tamil Nadu power surplus by 2012’ stated:

“The power-starved state of Tamil Nadu, which had not commissioned any major power project after 1996, has lined up a slew of power projects for over 14,000 MW generation capacity in public and private sectors. These projects are expected to make the state power sufficient by 2011 and power surplus after 2012. Tamil Nadu presently has an installed capacity of over 10,000 MW and faces 1,500 MW power deficit affecting industrial and domestic consumers.

The new power projects for over 11,500 MW in public sector and 2,500 MW in private sector are at different stages of implementation. The first unit of the 2,000-MW Kudankulam atomic power project is also close to the stage of being commissioned. There will also be over 4,000-MW installed capacity in renewable sector with over 3,000 MW from wind turbines alone, followed by biomass, co-generation and others.

Of the thermal projects, about 6,000 MW would be commissioned in 2010-11 by the public sector power companies as joint ventures with the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB), State Electricity Minister Thiru Arcot N Veerasamy said in the sate assembly. It includes 1,200-MW expansion of North Chennai and 600-MW expansion of Mettur thermal stations, TNEB-National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) joint venture 1500-MW Vallur thermal project, TNEB-Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) joint venture 1600-MW Udangudi super critical thermal power project and TNEB- Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) 1000-MW joint venture at Tuticorin. He said the first 1,000 MW unit of the Kudankulam atomic power project was scheduled to go on stream in December 2009.

The work on 1,000-MW Vallur thermal power project attracting nearly Rs 5423 crore is at the stage of progress. Its capacity can be expanded by another 500 MW. NTPC and TNEB have floated a 50:50 joint venture company - NTPC Tamil Nadu Energy Company Ltd for the coal-based thermal power project. It is the first NTPC project in Tamil Nadu though it supplies 1,492 MW to the state from Ramagundam in Andhra Pradesh and Kayamkulam in Kerala. The unit-1 at Vallur would be ready by November 2010 and the later by March 2011. The Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) has sanctioned Rs 3796 crore, which is the debt component of the project. Foundation stone was laid for the super critical 1,600 MW (800x2) Udangudi thermal power project near Tiruchendur, in Tuticorin district, recently. Estimated to cost Rs 8700 crore, it is a joint venture between Bhel and TNEB. TNEB is teaming up with NLC to set up a coal-based 1,000 MW power project at Tuticorin. The foundation stone for this was laid on Febraury 28 by the External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The promoters have formed a new company, NLC-Tamil Nadu Power Ltd, to develop the 500x2 thermal power project estimated to cost Rs.4,900 crore. NLC and TNEB will have 89% and 11% equity respectively. REC has sanctioned Rs.3437 crore, the entire debt component of the NLC-Tamil Nadu Power Ltd.

Coastal Energen , a Coal and Oil group company, is setting up a 1,200-MW merchant power project at Tuticorin. It is to be commissioned in 2012 and major share of the power would be available to the consumers in Tamil Nadu. Ahmed Buhari CEO said the company has signed a power purchase agreement with Tata Power. It will sell the power to the bulk consumers in Tamil Nadu itself.

Cuddalore Powergen Corporation, promoted by the BGR Energy group, is setting up a 1320 MW (660x2) thermal power project at Cuddalore with a power purchase agreement with TNEB. This MoU-route power project is scheduled to be commissioned in 2013. There is a proposal to set up 4,000-MW mega power project at Cheyyur, Kancheepuram district. The Power Finance Corporation is taking the lead in this. NLC proposes to set up a 1600 MW project at Jayamkondam, Perambalur district, at an investment of Rs.10,000 crore. These two projects will be commissioned after 2012."

This is the reality of the power position in Tamil Nadu: the efforts taken by the previous DMK government with all sincere not only to overcome power shortage but to turn Tamil Nadu into a power surplus state start bearing fruits now. While in opposition Jayalalitha shed crocodile tears for the difficulties faced by people of the state due to her failure to execute any power project during her earlier regime. And now she is trying to play hoax on the people by claiming the outcome of DMK government’s efforts as her achievements. It is regrettable that the media, which is well aware of the truth even by their own reports, do not come forward to clarify it to the people and play a second fiddle to the ADMK’s disinformation campaign.