White Paper Exposes ₹2.47 Lakh Crore Debt in Tamil Nadu Power Sector
The Tamil Nadu electricity department's total debt stands at ₹2.47 lakh crore, according to a White Paper presented by Electricity Minister R. Nirmalkumar on Thursday (June 25, 2026). The Minister assured that the state will not face any tariff revision, including the annual 3.57% increase this year.
The White Paper covers the financial status of four corporations: Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL), Tamil Nadu Power Generation Corporation Limited (TNPGCL), Tamil Nadu Green Energy Corporation Limited (TNGECL), and TANTRANSCO. These entities have sustained heavy losses, with cumulative debt amounting to ₹2.47 lakh crore. The erstwhile Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB), bifurcated into TANGEDCO and TANTRANSCO in 2010, was further restructured into four corporations in 2024.
The report highlights deficiencies in electricity infrastructure, power generation, and manpower. It stresses the need to replace ageing transmission and distribution infrastructure. Mr. Nirmalkumar said the White Paper demonstrates that the tariff revision implemented by the previous government in 2022, which raised charges for all consumer categories, benefited neither the department nor consumers. A substantial portion of the revenue was spent on power purchase agreements.
The state's peak power demand exceeds 21,300 MW, but its own generation capacity is only 3,495 MW — comprising 2,965 MW of thermal, 381 MW of hydro, and 149 MW of gas-based power. Previous governments, rather than investing in own sources, met demand through purchases from Central generating stations, solar power at ₹6.11 per unit, long-term agreements, and short-term purchases. Mr. Nirmalkumar noted that heavy expenses were incurred buying power from the exchange market, where prices sometimes reached ₹17 per unit. The department plans to save ₹215 crore through new long- and medium-term open-access mechanisms.
On thermal projects, only the Ennore SEZ (2x660 MW) and Udangudi Stage-I (2x660 MW) are in progress. The previous government discontinued the ETPS Expansion (660 MW) and Uppur (2x800 MW) projects after spending over ₹8,700 crore, without citing reasons. In transmission and distribution, only 122 substations were commissioned between 2021 and 2026, compared to 359 during the earlier AIADMK regime from 2016 to 2021. Nearly 99,573 new distribution transformers were installed by the previous government, but a major scam in the procurement of 45,800 transformers has emerged and is under investigation.
The electricity department faces a manpower shortage of about 45% against its sanctioned strength of 1,40,635 employees. Currently, only 74,714 staff are employed, leaving 65,921 vacancies. The acute shortage of wiremen, linemen, and gangmen causes delays in restoring power after disruptions, providing new connections, and other operations. Acting on Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay's directions to revamp the department, Mr. Nirmalkumar proposed new recruitment.
