City may see more power cuts to even out effects

CHENNAI: Fearing a huge electoral backlash during the Lok Sabha polls, the DMK government is considering ���equitable��� or ���uniform��� power cuts by increasing the duration of load-shedding in Chennai in order to ease the strain across the countryside.
Electricity shortage in the state currently hovers around 2,000 MW. A high-level meeting was held at the Secretariat on Sunday to discuss a plan to reconcile the needs of various affected sectors including agriculturists, industries and domestic users.The meeting was attended by chief minister M Karunanidhi, power minister Arcot Veeraswami, chief secretary K S Sripathi, finance secretary K Gnanadesikan, energy secretary Smita Nagaraj and Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) chairman Machendranathan.
Highly placed sources said the government has not taken a final decision as yet but is veering around to the view that it may be necessary to impose more cuts in Chennai ��� which accounts for 25% of total power consumed in the state ��� and reduce the burden on mofussil and rural areas to avoid large-scale discontent. A decision is likely on on Monday.
At present, the TNEB resorts to 90 minutes of load shedding in Chennai, three hours in the city���s suburbs and over five hours in the rest of the state. ���The government is keen to ensure that there is no discrimination,��� said ministerial sources. As Chennai consumes nearly 2,000 MW of the total 7,000 MW produced, energy managers have informed the chief minister that load shedding in the city for one more hour could considerably ease the situation in other parts of the state.