As TN wind season nears end, Tangedco puts thermal units on standby

Wind power generation is on the wane in Tamil Nadu even before the wind season comes to an end by mid- to end-September. The forecast for next week is not favourable for wind power generation to increase.

“In the last week we did not get enough wind power. In July and August we were able to evacuate not less than 3,500 MW on an average and at times, the peak evacuation touched 5,000 MW of wind power, creating a new record,” said a senior Tangedco official.

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“Tangedco evacuated 5,689 MW of wind power at 5.02 pm on July 4, higher than the previous peak evacuation of 5,535 MW on June 30. This was possible only because of meticulous planning in grid management by the State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC),” said the official.

Tangedco had used wind power to the extent of 111.129 MU. The earliest peak was 107.552 achieved on August 7, 2020.

For the next few days, the forecast is that the wind power generation will cross 3,000 MW. “We are aware of the forecast, but since it is dependent on nature we need to have other sources of power supply on the standby,” said the official.

Generally, after the wind power season ends, Tangedco depends on its own thermal units as well as the Centre’s thermal and nuclear units.

Coal stock for 8 days

“As of now our thermal units have 8 days of coal stock and on a daily basis local coal as well as imported coal are also coming into the Ennore and Tuticorin ports. The overall peak demand is much less as many districts are receiving rainfall on a daily basis,” said the official.

The demand is expected to be less as the weather will not be as hot as it used to be during summer. “Since the north-east monsoon is around two months away, at present the south-west monsoon is active in various districts of the state. Due to this, the overall domestic demand is less but we expect the demand to increase after December and we are prepared for that,” said the official.

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Tangedco has signed agreements for short-term power supply from private companies from December end onwards, “This will take care of the demand even if it increases to 16,000 MW. At present, on an average the peak demand is less than 13000 MW,” said the official.

By next summer, Tangedco is likely to increase its total thermal units’ capacity by 800 MW. “We are confident of commissioning the North Chennai third unit with a capacity of 800 MW by March next year. Once this is on, our dependents on private or market power supply will decline,” said the official.