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White Paper on T.N. electricity department puts debt at ₹2.47 lakh crore: Minister Nirmalkumar

admin — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 11:01:00 +0000

The State will not be burdened with any tariff revision, including the annual revision of 3.57% this year, said Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister R. Nirmalkumar on Thursday (June 25, 2026).

Mr. Nirmalkumar, while presenting a White Paper on the status of the Tamil Nadu electricity department, said the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL), Tamil Nadu Power Generation Corporation Limited (TNPGCL), Tamil Nadu Green Energy Corporation Limited (TNGECL), and TANTRANSCO have sustained heavy losses, with the total debt of the four corporations standing at ₹2.47 lakh crore. The erstwhile Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB), which was bifurcated into TANGEDCO and TANTRANSCO in 2010, was further restructured into four corporations in 2024. The report highlighted deficiencies in electricity infrastructure, power generation, and manpower, and stressed the need to replace ageing transmission and distribution infrastructure.

The Electricity Minister said the White Paper was presented to show that the tariff revision implemented by the previous government in 2022, which led to a spike in electricity charges for all categories of consumers, benefited neither the electricity department nor the consumers, as substantial expenditure was incurred on power purchase agreements.

Own-power sources

Mr. Nirmalkumar highlighted that the State, whose peak power demand stood at more than 21,300 MW, has only 3,495 MW of generation capacity from its own sources, comprising 2,965 MW of thermal power, 381 MW of hydropower, and 149 MW of gas-based power. He said previous governments, instead of investing in own-power sources, had met power demand through electricity procured from Central generating stations, solar power (at ₹6.11 per unit), long-term power purchase arrangements, and short-term power purchases.

He said: “Heavy expenses were incurred on power purchases to meet peak demand while buying from the exchange market, where prices, at times, touched ₹17 per unit.” He added that the electricity department had planned to save ₹215 crore in the coming years through a new arrangement involving long- and medium-term open-access mechanisms.

Power infra

Mr. Nirmalkumar pointed out that of the four major thermal power projects announced several years ago — Ennore SEZ (2×660 MW), Udangudi Stage-I (2×660 MW), ETPS Expansion (660 MW) and Uppur (2×800 MW) — only the Ennore SEZ and Udangudi projects are currently in progress. He said the previous government had discontinued the other two projects after spending more than ₹8,700 crore on them, without citing any reason.

On the transmission and distribution infrastructure front, the Electricity Minister said that though good revenue was generated through the tariff revision, the previous government had failed to establish new substations. Mr. Nirmalkumar said that during the AIADMK regime from 2016 to 2021, a total of 359 substations of various capacities, including 400 kV, 230 kV, and 110 kV, were commissioned. However, during the subsequent government between 2021 and 2026, only 122 substations were commissioned.

He said, “Although nearly 99,573 new distribution transformers were installed by the previous government, a major scam in the procurement of 45,800 distribution transformers has come to light, and the case is under investigation.”

Manpower shortage

On the staffing front, the electricity department faces a manpower shortfall of nearly 45% against its sanctioned strength of 1,40,635 employees. At present, the workforce stands at 74,714, leaving 65,921 vacancies. The Electricity Minister said that the acute shortage of personnel in key categories such as wiremen, linemen, and gangmen was bound to cause delays in restoring power supply after disruptions, providing new electricity connections, and carrying out other operational works.

Acting on the directions of Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to revamp the electricity department, Mr. Nirmalkumar said he had proposed the recruitment of 15,000 personnel this year and the absorption of 5,391 gangmen who were recruited by the previous government but whose appointments were kept in abeyance.

On the infrastructure front, he said it had been proposed to renovate 682 substations at a cost of ₹8,318 crore, expedite work on the 121 substations currently under construction, and establish 231 new substations in the future.

Published – June 25, 2026 04:19 pm IST

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Hard disk theft at TNPDCL: Data backup initiated, probe under way, says Tamil Nadu Minister Nirmalkumar

admin — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 19:31:00 +0000

Minister for Energy Resources and Law R. Nirmalkumar File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

As part of the ongoing investigation into the theft of 18 hard disks from the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL) headquarters on Anna Salai in Chennai, the Greater Chennai Police (GCP) have arrested a contract employee and intensified efforts to uncover the larger network behind the incident.

A special team arrested Gopinath, 36, of Arakkonam in Ranipet district on Thursday. He is currently being questioned at a secure location as investigators pursue further leads in the case. The police said Gopinath was employed on contract by a private information technology firm responsible for the annual maintenance of computer systems at the TNPDCL headquarters. During interrogation, he allegedly confessed to removing the hard disks at the behest of certain key suspects.

Meanwhile, Minister for Energy Resources and Law R. Nirmalkumar said instructions had been issued to ensure the safe custody of all files and to take backup copies of data stored in computers. Speaking to journalists at the Secretariat, he said 18 hard disks had been reported missing from the TNPDCL headquarters last month. Later, he said the police had made some arrests in Bengaluru where the hard disks were taken to.

Following a preliminary departmental vigilance inquiry, a complaint was lodged with the police. Investigators said Gopinath had been communicating with the key suspects through online calls and later handed over the devices in exchange for money.

Investigators suspect that individuals linked to contractors and beneficiaries involved in procurement and tender-related activities may have orchestrated the theft.

Police believe the hard disks could have been targeted to obtain sensitive information related to contracts and purchases.

As part of the probe, officers have collected details of contractors and vendors associated with the State electricity utility, and are examining their possible connections with Gopinath and other suspects. Call detail records and digital communication trails are being analysed to establish the chain of events. Two additional suspects are being questioned to determine their involvement and identify others who may have played a role in the theft.

Meanwhile, the GCP have expanded the scope of the investigation and sought assistance from experts in the Cyber Crime Wing.

Cyber forensic specialists have been tasked with examining digital evidence and tracing the movements, communications, and online activities of those suspected to be connected to the case.

Data in transformer procurement case

Mr. Nirmalkumar said all information regarding the alleged scam in transformer procurement had already been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with an ongoing case. He said certain persons had also been placed under suspension in connection with the matter.

He said the process of backing up data related to tenders issued over the past five years, coal contracts, and contract employee-related records stored in computers had commenced. The validation process was expected to be completed within a few days.

Reacting to the incident, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Thursday demanded that the CBI be asked to probe the alleged theft of hard disks. “How should we interpret the disappearance of the data under a regime that claimed itself to be a ‘clean force’?” Mr. Palaniswami asked, in a post on his social media handle. He also asked the government whether it was trying to “shield” a party that it had once derided.

BJP Tamil Nadu unit president Nainar Nagenthran said the alleged theft of the hard disks from the TNPDCL headquarters showed the current regime’s inefficiency.

Former Electricity Minister and DMK Coimbatore South MLA V. Senthilbalaji on Thursday told journalists in Coimbatore that if hard disks had gone missing from the TNPDCL headquarters, then it is the duty of the government and the Minister and the official concerned to take action against the staff involved. “It is a departmental issues. If someone commits a mistake, it is your responsibility to take action,” he told journalists in Coimbatore.

When a journalist contended that Mr. Nirmalkumar had said there was an attempt to intimidate him on the issue, Mr. Senthilbalaji wondered about the state of law and order when a Minister himself was facing intimidation.

Published – June 04, 2026 12:01 pm IST

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