Chief minister J. Jayalalithaa has demanded that the entire 2,000 MW of power, to be generated from the two units of Kudankulam nuclear power plant, be given to the state in view of the severe power shortage.
“Tamil Nadu is facing a severe power shortage and it would, therefore, be proper and justifiable that the entire power to be generated from Kudankulam plant is made available to the state,” she said in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday.
This was also inevitable as the transmission corridor congestion problem still continued, she said.
Ms Jayalalithaa pointed out that Kudankulam plant, comprising two units of 1,000 MW each, had a generation capacity of 2,000 MW, but Tamil Nadu has been allocated only a share of 925 MW of power. She recalled that she had made a request for allocation of 1,000 MW from the Central pool last year, but the Centre had made available a mere 100 MW to the state.
The Kudankulam plant is expected to commence power production in two months. The first unit of the nuclear power plant was ready for commissioning in December last year, but got delayed due to the agitation spearheaded by the People’s Movement against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), expressing apprehensions about the safety of the project.
After ascertaining the safety features in the plant, the state government gave its nod last week, after which scientists are working overtime to commission the plant at the earliest.