BJP questions TN govt's plan to buy power from private firms

Chennai, Aug 23 (IANS) Tamil Nadu BJP president Nainar Nagendran strongly criticised the DMK government for allegedly going back on its electoral promise to increase domestic power generation to reduce reliance on private suppliers, and instead planning to procure electricity at a massive cost that would burden both the state exchequer and consumers.

In a statement on Saturday, Nagenthran said reports that the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) is preparing to purchase 2,200 MW of electricity from private producers at an estimated cost of Rs 80,000 crore, raise serious questions about the government’s priorities.

He recalled that before coming to power, the DMK, under its election promise number 231, had pledged to reduce dependence on private sources and instead produce 20,000 MW through clean and renewable energy facilities to ensure affordable power for the people.

“Contrary to that commitment, the government has pushed the power board into losses and is now choosing to buy power at high costs from private companies,” he said.

Nagenthran alleged that this move would inevitably lead to higher electricity tariffs, further straining households and industries already reeling from successive rate hikes.

“Is the so-called ‘Dravidian Model’ only about raising tariffs without adding to power generation capacity?” he asked.

The BJP leader accused the DMK of burdening both the government and the public.

“By raising the state’s debt and simultaneously increasing power charges, the government is pushing Tamil Nadu into darkness while boasting of being a ‘Vidiyal’ (Dawn) administration,” he charged.

He also attacked the government for failing to keep its promise of introducing monthly electricity billing, a measure that had been announced to ease consumer payments.

“If the DMK government could discard its own promise on billing cycles, it should not find it difficult to scrap this costly proposal to buy power from private firms,” he said.

He urged the state government to immediately abandon any plan to procure electricity at such high costs from private suppliers, warning that it would only worsen the financial burden on both the treasury and ordinary citizens.

--IANS

aal/rad