Chennai, June 25 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar on Thursday released a white paper detailing the financial status of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB), revealing that the state’s power sector has accumulated an outstanding debt of Rs 2.47 lakh crore.

Despite the mounting financial burden, the minister assured consumers that electricity tariffs would not be increased during the current year.

The white paper, released at the TNEB headquarters in Chennai, presents a comprehensive review of the power sector’s financial performance over the past 25 years.

It comes shortly after the Tamil Nadu government published a broader white paper on the state’s finances, which estimated the state’s overall debt at Rs 13.18 lakh crore and the power sector’s liabilities at Rs 2,47,130 crore.

Addressing reporters, Nirmal Kumar said the Electricity Board incurred a total expenditure of Rs 5.32 lakh crore between 2021 and 2026, while its revenue during the same period stood at Rs 4.97 lakh crore. The resulting deficit amounted to Rs 34,447 crore.

The Minister said the power sector now accounts for 77.6 per cent of the total debt of all state public sector undertakings, underlining the urgent need for structural reforms to restore financial stability.

According to the white paper, the Electricity Board has been recording significant deficits over successive governments. The sector reported a loss of Rs 35,463 crore during the 2006-11 period, which rose to Rs 56,361 crore between 2011 and 2016 and further increased to Rs 58,534 crore during 2016-21.

Nirmal Kumar alleged that despite substantial expenditure, repeated borrowing and sizeable revenue collections over the years, infrastructure development had failed to keep pace with the money spent. He said the government was committed to strengthening the power sector through improved financial management and operational efficiency.

He noted that Tamil Nadu’s peak power demand has reached 21,307 MW. The state currently meets its electricity requirements through hydroelectric, thermal and gas-based generation, while also procuring power from Central generating stations, private producers and other states. He said the government is working to replace costly short-term power purchase agreements with long-term contracts, a move expected to reduce expenditure by nearly Rs 215 crore every month.

Reiterating that there would be no electricity tariff revision this year, Nirmal Kumar said the government’s immediate focus would be on improving the financial health of the Electricity Board. He also disclosed that alleged irregularities in the procurement of electrical conductors at nine locations had come to light and would be thoroughly investigated.

–IANS

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