Fresh curbs on HT consumers stayed

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution of Energy Corporation (TANGEDCO) has been restrained by the Madras High Court from preventing certain High Tension (HT) consumers from purchasing power from third party sources/self-generating power/wind mill generation/captive power plant and banked units to meet their requirements during power holidays and load shedding periods. Justice K Venkataraman granted the stay while entertaining a batch of writ petitions from six firms, last week. In a petition, one of the firms, submitted that in the past few months, TANGEDCO, in addition to the permitted demand and energy cut, had been resorting to scheduled and unscheduled power cuts and load-shedding all over the State, except Chennai. In the rural areas, the situation was worse. Load-shedding was being imposed for more than eight or 10 hours in a day.The Chief Engineer/Commercial issued a memo dated February 25 under orders from TANGEDCO introducing fresh curbs on HT consumers. The communication prohibited purchase of third party power as well as exchange power during power holidays and during load-shedding period and further prohibited the banked wind energy for adjustment up to March 31 this year.