‘Shut down 10 substations in north TN when cyclone made landfall’

CHENNAI:  Tangedco received 42,000 complaints through Minnagam centralised customer care system in the past couple of days. Of these, 26,251 were registered till Friday midnight, and most were addressed, said Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji on Saturday.

Speaking to TNIE, the minister said Tangedco shut 10 of its 355 substations in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, and Chengalpattu when cyclone Mandous made landfall. These 10 substations catered to 622 feeders.

“Power was restored to half the feeders by 7am on Saturday and to the rest before 12pm. Currently, 11,000 workers are on the ground, replacing damaged transformers and posts. These assignments are due to be completed by Saturday night or Sunday Morning.” He added that TN’s power demand came down on Friday. 

Rajesh Lakhoni, chairman and managing director of Tangedco, tweeted: “Yesterday (Friday), electricity demand was lowest at 6300MW since 2016. The previous low demand was on December 13, 2016, at 6409MW.”

According to a senior Tangedco officer, power demand on Friday stood at 6,371MW, down from the usual 15,000MW. Total consumption on Friday stood at 252.185 million units (MU). “In recent days, use of appliances such as fans, air conditioners, etc., decreased after the rains began. Hydroelectric generation has been good, but coal-fired power plants still account for 25%-30% of total generation,” he added.

During cyclone Mandous, power supply was cut to a few parts of Chennai on Friday night. Uprooted trees fell on electric line. Areas to which supply was suspended include Madipakkam, Santhospuram, Adyar, Parasawakkam, and surrounding places. The supply was restored on Saturday morning.