Tamil Nadu witnessed underdrawal of power from the Inter State Transmission System in September 2023, amid higher renewable energy generation.
The State’s peak power demand in September was 16,809 MW and the energy requirement was 10,014 million units, as per the data from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), under the Union Ministry of Power.
According to the policy note of the State’s energy department for 2023-24, the total installed power capacity in Tamil Nadu stands at 34,706.16 MW as on April 1. Out of it 8,739.01 MW or 25.18% is from wind, while 6,539.23 MW or 18.84% is from solar.
Tangedco’s own thermal power capacity is 4,320 MW and along with the State’s share from Central Generating Stations (CGS), long term and short term power purchase agreements the State’s conventional installed capacity stands at 16,417.38 MW.
On September 24, Tamil Nadu saw maximum underdrawal of 2,518 MW, as per data from Southern Regional Load Despatch Centre.
Tamil Nadu State Load Despatch Centre said sudden renewable energy injection was the reason for large underdrawal on some days in September. It also said backing down of thermal units was being carried out based on system requirement.
On September 24, the State’s wind energy generation was 106.68 million units and solar generation was 36.56 million units, as per CEA data.
In September, the cumulative renewable energy generation was 3,597.29 million units, with wind accounting for 2,689.69 million units and solar accounting for 907.60 million units.
Tamil Nadu Load Despatch Centre said it also tried to sell surplus renewable energy of 2300 MW in the real time market, but the quantum realized was nil.
One of the challenges has been to tackle the fluctuations in renewable energy generation, due to lack of energy storage options.
A senior state government official pointed out that Tamil Nadu is working towards pumped storage projects as a storage option for wind and solar energy.
Pumped Storage System utilises surplus grid power available from thermal power stations or other sources to pump up water from lower to upper reservoir and reproduces power during peak demand when there is scarcity of power.
Tamil Nadu is looking at 15 pumped storage projects totalling 15,000 MW in locations like Coimbatore, Theni, Salem, Tirunelveli, Dindigul. The modalities are being worked out, the official said.
