The Thoothukudi Thermal Power Station. Image used for representation only
| Photo Credit: N. Rajesh
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Monday (August 31, 2026) announced a Tamil Nadu Transmission Improvement Scheme at a cost of ₹33,066 crore to strengthen power transmission to major consumption centres, including Chennai. He also announced that a new supercritical thermal power station would be set up in Thoothukudi at a cost of ₹20,800 crore, besides a ₹1,762-crore project to improve power distribution in Chennai.
Making a suo motu statement in the Assembly, Mr. Vijay said under the Transmission Improvement Scheme, 196 new substations and transmission lines covering 15,000 km would be created. The existing transmission lines would also be strengthened.
Renewable energy push
The Chief Minister said although Tamil Nadu was a leader in the renewable energy sector and was paying attention to wind, solar, and battery power, the supply from these sources was not uniform.
He said technology was being developed to store surplus power generated from renewable sources in batteries and use it at night when required. However, the existing infrastructure was not adequate to meet the State’s power requirements at all times.
Mr. Vijay said there was a need to depend on thermal power to ensure uninterrupted supply during periods of heavy demand and that the infrastructure had to be strengthened.
Contending that no efforts had been made in the last five years to attract investments in thermal and hydel power stations, the Chief Minister said the capacity of the Thoothukudi Thermal Power Station, one of the State’s important power stations, would be increased.
The station has five thermal power units, each with a capacity of 210 MW, taking its total installed capacity to 1,050 MW. The units have been in operation since 1979 and were commissioned in phases.
The Chief Minister said there was a plan to replace the existing units in accordance with environmental regulations governing thermal power stations. Under the plan, the existing 210-MW units would be replaced under the public-private partnership (PPP) model by two units, each with a capacity of 800 MW, raising the total capacity to 1,600 MW.
Chennai power infra
Mr. Vijay said Chennai’s power distribution infrastructure would be improved at a cost of ₹1,762 crore, as power supply was disrupted during the monsoon and there was a substantial increase in demand during summer.
Under the plan, 36 new substations, each with a capacity of 33/11 kV, would be installed along with new transformers. Damaged and obsolete cables, pillar boxes, and circuit breakers would also be replaced.
Published – August 31, 2026 01:03 pm IST
