Thread by @BiIndia

A new research lines up a plan to save Tamil Nadu’s #TANGEDCO and your power bills

businessinsider.in/science/enviro…

#TamilNadu

By @navdeepyadav321

The state-owned power distributor in Tamil Nadu, one of India’s more developed states, is losing ₹2.2 on every unit of power sold. This has led to a debt pile up of over ₹1.13 lakh crore ($15.4 billion).

Now, a Bengaluru-based research group @ClimateHorizons, has come up with a plan to save the company and consumers’ money on electricity bills.

The cash-strapped discom Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO)...

...can save up to ₹57,766 crore over five years if it retires older plants, rationalise under-construction projects and avails of cheaper power to meet future demand, according to the report dated February 5.

Like in many other states, TANGEDCO has been struggling for a while. In October 2020, the central government approved a ₹30,230 crore bailout package. But that would only the inevitable collapse until another bailout or corrective measures.

Here’s a breakdown of the estimated amount the discom in #TamilNadu can save by moving to renewables:

➡️Retire old plans

-Some of the ideas shared in the report should, ideally, be under execution. For example, shutting down coal-based power plants that are older than 20 years like the ones in Thoothukudi, Mettur, Salem, and North Chennai.

-Such plants are typically less efficient and pollute more. Legally, they should be moving towards meeting the 2015 air and water emission norms notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.

-The deadline for compliance with the norms is 2022.

The researchers say it may be cheaper to replace these plants instead of trying to upgrade them, which may cost another ₹1,600 crore.

-For the same reason, the authors of the report also say that under-construction projects like the one in Uppur, Udangudi and Ennore should be frozen.

-The power from new renewables in India is much cheaper than power from fossil fuels like coal.

In India, solar bids declined from a high of 10.95 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in 2010 to less than ₹2/kWh now. By 2030, renewable power in India is expected to be 56% cheaper than new-build coal.

However, not just the state governments, even the central government seems to be going for a rather hybrid approach.