Tamil Nadu’s summer heat arrived with full force this April, triggering an immediate spike in electricity demand. The peak demand touched 21,307 megawatts (MW) on April 29. The same day, the State witnessed the peak power consumption of 471.45 million units (MU). This year, summer heat has led to the demand crossing the 21,000 MW regularly. Last year, the high demand was lower than the requirement of 2024. The maximum demand recorded in 2024 was 20,830 MW on May 2, and the highest consumption registered was 454.32 MU on April 30.This year though, there have been no major power cuts, as is the norm when the demand surges. However, there are complaints of low voltage and supply disruptions in several areas of Chennai. The capital consumes almost 5,000 MW, and the maximum demand peaked to 4,769 MW on May 31, 2024.Network upgradedOver the years, power managers have commissioned projects to upgrade the transmission network. However, they say that despite the upgrades, disruptions do happen owing to glitches caused by the puncturing of underground cable networks or snapping of overhead cables.A senior official of Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation limited (TNPDCL) says the power demand this year has breached the previous maximum in all the districts owing to the heat. But the electricity department anticipated the demand and prepared well: the State has an installed capacity of nearly 40,000 MW, with 17,000 MW of thermal power and 13,000 MW of wind and solar energy.In Chennai, people in the western suburbs of Avadi, Pattabhiram, Thandurai, and Thiruninravur have regularly been affected by low voltage and disruptions. The residential localities in Avadi, which was upgraded as a municipal corporation, has grown in the recent past. A proposal was made for taking the overhead cables underground for residents of the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) flats. But the work has not been taken up. Consumer activist T. Sadagopan says it has been more than five years since the work on upgrading the 110-KV substation at Avadi to 230 KV started. But the project has been progressing slowly, resulting in supply disruptions in the nearby Pattabhiram and Thandurai. He points out that though the 110-KV substation at Pattabhiram was opened in 2007, improvement work has not been carried out regularly. A major fire occurred at the substation, which disrupted the supply at Pattabhiram for over 48 hours.S. Dharanitharan, a resident of the TNHB locality at Avadi, says the Tidel Park at Avadi does not have a dedicated substation required to power the 21 floors. The Avadi-Poonamallee corridor has several multi-storey apartments and gated communities. But the gated communities are yet to have substations and transformers, as promised.TNPDCL officials say they planned well by going in for the purchase of 1,500 MW of medium-term power to meet the peak-hour demand and avoid buying costly power from the exchange. The medium-term power accounts for 2,300 MW in the available total energy of 25,000 MW.A senior official of TNPDCL says, “Every year, we expect an increase of 5% to 6% in demand; but this year, it has increased to more than 7%.” In its report, the Central Energy Authority has projected that the State would reach the peak demand of 21,959 MW. In anticipation, the TNPDCL installed substations in the city and on the outskirts and also converted the conventional transformers into 5,500 ring main units (RMUs).Substations establishedThe energy department has established substations and upgraded the existing ones from Virudhunagar to north Chennai and Coimbatore for supplying power across the State. The 765-KV network would help minimise transmission losses, carry power in bulk, and ensure reliable supply. Enhancement work has been carried out at seven of the 400-KV substations, 11 of the 230-KV substations, and 60 of the 110-KV substations.In the Coimbatore region, covering Coimbatore, Tiruppur, and the Nilgiris districts, the demand has touched an all-time
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