Tamil Nadu’s power situation is estimated to be comfortable during the period of July-November 2022 amid high renewable energy generation and the upcoming monsoon.
According to the data furnished by the State Load Despatch Centre (SLDC) to the Southern Regional Power Committee (SRPC), under the Central Electricity Authority, Tamil Nadu is expected to have surplus power during this period both in terms of megawatt and million units (MUs).
For July, the requirement is projected to be 16,100 MW and the availability is expected to be 17,183 MW. In terms of MUs, the requirement and availability is estimated at 10,200.
On July 9, Tamil Nadu had evacuated 120.25 million units of wind energy, an all-time high, accounting for 35% of the consumption in the State. So far this month, it has consistently evacuated over 100 million units for seven consecutive days. The State saw all-time high consumption of 388.078 million units on April 29, 2022. Till mid-September, wind generation is expected to be high.
Tamil Nadu’s power requirement is projected to be 10,500 MUs in August, 9,450 MUs in September, 9,600 MUs in October and 9,300 MUs in November. Tangedco’s own thermal power capacity is 4,320 MW. With its share from the Central Generating Stations and private power purchases, the total conventional power generation capacity stands at about 16,652 MW.
The State’s renewable energy capacity stands at 17,225.11 MW, of which wind energy accounts for 8,615 MW and solar 5,303 MW. The State Load Despatch Centre said at a recent meeting of the SRPC that it is witnessing some deficits during (lighting) peak hours, and they will be managed with purchases in the real-time electricity market.
SRPC told SLDC to consider firm power tie-ups during the evening peak since it was the trend in Tamil Nadu throughout the year. Another issue flagged was the under-drawal from the grid by the southern States in a high renewable energy scenario. According to Southern Regional Load Despatch Centre, in June Tamil Nadu saw a maximum under-drawal of 1,200 MW. Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation Limited attributed it to high renewable energy generation.
It also said there was no sufficient balancing power available to meet the variability in renewable energy, as thermal generation was backed down to accommodate high solar generation and the State was exploring the sale of power in exchanges.
