Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa on Sunday directed TNEB to purchase power from the open market to tide over the 1,026 MW deficit being experienced by Tamil Nadu due to the decline in power supply from the national grid following the ongoing Telangana stir and Orissa floods, even as she assured to rid the state of powercuts by August next year.
“The move to buy power from the open market will help the state to overcome the shortfall and mitigate people’s hardships,” she said.
“My government has been taking steps to augment power supply by reviving old power plants and expediting existing power projects to ensure that the state is free from powercuts by August 2012,” she assured.
Ms Jayalalithaa said power supply to the state was affected because of the present Telangana strike, which affected the work in Singareni coalfields leading to a deficit of 1,100 MW in power generation at the Ramagundam thermal power station.