Tamil Nadu spinning mills take state power utility to court

The Tamil Nadu Spinning Mills Association (TASMA) Wednesday took Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd. (TANGEDCO) to court for cutting off power to its members despite having dedicated power feeder lines, said an association official.

"We have filed a case against TANGEDCO to supply power generated by the wind mills of our members through their dedicated feeder lines," K. Venkatachalam, chief advisor at TASMA, told IANS.

"The TANGEDCO is forcing the spinning mills to buy power from outside and inject at feeding points during load shedding period despite our members having generated power and banked it with the power utility," he said.

Power banking is like cash banking, whereby wind power producers feed in the electricity generated by their wind mills to the state grid and then draw that power for captive use within a year or encash the same.

According to Venkatachalam, TASMA members have invested around Rs.1 crore in dedicated feeder lines and as such the wind mills are like any other captive power plants.

He said since the wind mills and the points of consumption are located at different places, the power generated by the machines is fed into the state grid paying wheeling charges as well to TANGEDCO.

He said it is not equitable for TANGEDCO to sell the power generated by wind mills to others and ask TASMA members to buy power from outside.

Venkatachalam said TANGEDCO officials have issued notices to TASMA members informing that availing wind power for consumption during load shedding period is not feasible as per instructions in force.

"Our members who have invested in dedicated feeder lines are ready to consume the entire power generated by the wind mills," he added.

TASMA members account for around 3,500 MW of wind power installed in the state.

Only last month in another case filed by TASMA, TANGEDCO had agreed to settle within two months its dues to the members of the latter owning wind mills in the state. - IANS