Tamil Nadu to Establish 231 New Substations Worth INR 15,032 Crore

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay has directed officials to undertake a major power infrastructure expansion programme, including the establishment of 231 new substations at an estimated cost of INR 15,032 crore and the recruitment of 15,058 electricity workers, aimed at strengthening the state's grid and improving power supply reliability.

The directions were issued during a review meeting of the Energy Department at the State Secretariat. Officials were also instructed to immediately procure critical electrical equipment and deploy field personnel for routine patrols and maintenance of the power distribution network.

The proposed substations will be developed in addition to the 121 upgraded substations currently under construction at a cost of INR 10,109 crore, taking the total value of ongoing and planned substation projects to over INR  25,000 crore.

According to an official release, Tamil Nadu is not facing a power shortage. The government attributed recent intermittent outages in Chennai and other urban centres to ageing electrical infrastructure, underground cable faults, increasing electricity demand, maintenance activities, and accidental damage to power cables during road excavation works.

To improve consumer services, the state plans to introduce a WhatsApp-based complaint management system, which will be integrated with the existing grievance redressal platform to enable quicker reporting and resolution of electricity-related complaints.

The announcements come amid growing concerns over a recent increase in power cuts reported across several parts of Tamil Nadu.

Electricity Minister C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar said that any future power tariff revisions would be considered only after consultations between the Chief Minister and the Finance Secretary and would require the Chief Minister's approval. He added that the government would ensure that any decision on tariff revisions does not adversely affect consumers.

Senior officials, including Tamil Nadu Electricity Board Chairman J. Radhakrishnan, attended the review meeting.