Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) has approved the payment of additional subsidy of ₹1,220.79 crore for FY2018-19 and FY2019-20, towards the supply of free agriculture power.
As per preliminary data, Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) had received a subsidy of ₹4,091.25 crore in FY2018-19, of which ₹3,294.21 was for agriculture normal category and ₹797.04 crore under the self financing scheme.
Similarly, in FY2019-20, the State utility had received ₹3,731.34 crore for the agriculture normal category and ₹525.89 crore under the self financing scheme, thereby receiving ₹4,257.23 crore in total, based on preliminary data.
As per the actual data, the subsidy to be received by Tangedco works to ₹4,751.07 crore in FY2018-19 and ₹4,818.20 crore in 2019-2020 respectively, TNERC noted, while approving the additional subsidy.
It also said the State government may release the subsidy immediately.
Tangedco cited the COVID-19 pandemic for the delay in uploading the actual connected load data for FY2018-19 and FY2019-20.