Tamil Nadu to Build 34 New Substations to Ease Chennai's Power Woes
The Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL) has announced plans to construct 34 new electricity substations across Chennai and three adjoining districts: Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, and Kancheepuram. The initiative, costing ₹3,214 crore, aims to strengthen the distribution network and address recurring power disruptions.
Chennai's power demand crossed 5,000 megawatts (MW) for the first time this year, leading to complaints of outages. A white paper presented by Energy Resources Minister C.T.R. Nirmalkumar attributed these disruptions to delays in commissioning new 230-kV, 110-kV, and 33-kV substations and the failure to replace ageing infrastructure.
A senior TNPDCL official noted that sustained growth in residential, commercial, and industrial sectors in Chennai and its neighbouring districts has driven demand to an all-time high. While overall power availability remains adequate, localised interruptions occur due to network constraints, transformer overloading during peak evening hours, ageing equipment, insufficient source redundancy, and underground cable failures.
To address these issues, TNPDCL and the Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation (Tantransco) propose to establish 13 substations in the North Circle (covering Tiruvallur) and 21 in the South Circle (covering Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu). New substations are planned at locations including Ennore, Kanagavallipuram, Perambur Barracks Road, Perumcherry, Thirumazhisai Industrial Estate, Egmore, and Medavakkam. In Medavakkam, a 110/11-kV substation will be set up on a multi-storey apartment site at Puravankara.
TNPDCL has also outlined a roadmap for the GST Road residential corridor, proposing a 400/230/110-kV substation. Additional substations are planned for Ambattur, Selavoyal, Vanagaram, Nolambur, Thalambur, Irumbuliyur, Manapakkam, Vengal, and Sunnambu Kolathur on the Thoraipakkam-Pallavaram Radial Road.
T. Ashok, a resident of Perumbakkam, emphasised that with the metro line coming on the Sholinganallur-Medavakkam stretch, power transmission improvements are critical to prevent low voltage and outages. The TNPDCL aims to complete all 34 substations within the current financial year.
