Power cuts caused by load issues, not shortage, says Minister R. Nirmalkumar

Minister for Energy Resources and Law R. Nirmalkumar said on Saturday that the recent power cuts, which occurred in some parts of Chennai and other districts, were due to load issues, and the Electricity Department had been taking prompt measures to address them.

Speaking to reporters, he said there was no shortage of power supply, and there had been a sudden peak in power demand during the summer. He also said the department is reeling under severe financial distress and reforms are being implemented in the Electricity Department, which might take a few months.

Mr. Nirmalkumar said the Electricity Department had constituted seven rapid response teams of engineers in Chennai, and they had been provided vehicles to swiftly reach spots and rectify complaints. He said officials had been instructed to inspect substations to find and rectify any technical issues immediately.

Call centres have been activated with a strength of 300 employees, and complaints are being received round the clock and forwarded to the respective teams for prompt redressal. There were several old transformers and cable networks that needed to be replaced.

Mr. Nirmalkumar also said that in some places, the power cuts were caused by certain individuals, and action would be taken against them. He said over the last 20 years, the Electricity Department has been reeling under severe financial distress with outstanding debt to the tune of ₹2.5 lakh crore. “Of the total sanctioned strength of 1.4 lakh, the Electricity Department has been functioning with only 70,000 employees,” he said.

He said Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay is closely following developments in the Electricity Department. Further, he said measures were being taken to streamline the processing of applications, approval procedures, and the installation of solar panels. Several crores worth of tenders had been cancelled and revalidated to address administrative discrepancies.