What’s behind Tamil Nadu’s prolonged power cuts? Vijay govt faces the heat as demand surges

From last year’s peak demand of around 16,000-17,000 MW, it has climbed to about 19,000–20,500 MW, say officials of Tamil Nadu Electricity Board.

Ageing infrastructure is also doing no good to electricity sector as Tamil Nadu grapples with the surge in power demand | ANI File

Chennai: Four months into office, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay is confronted with a crisis. Unscheduled power cuts have led to public outrage over the last few months, with the problem intensifying in September amid an unusual surge in demand and a sharp drop in wind generation.

After initial protests in parts of Chennai, the agitations have spread to multiple districts, including Tirunelveli, Trichy, Karur, and Namakkal. People complain about prolonged night-time cuts, low voltage, and disruptions to daily life and businesses.

Chennai’s peak demand, which crossed 5,000 MW in May and June, remains elevated at 4,200–4,500 MW against a more typical 3,500–3,800 MW for the season. The statewide peak demand earlier touched over 21,000 MW.

Leader of the Opposition and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s Udhayanidhi Stalin has criticised the administration for poorly handling the situation. In a 12 September post on X, he highlighted media reports of continuous unannounced power cuts and voltage problems, noting that the people were protesting on the streets.

இரவில் 2 மணி நேரத்திற்கு மேலாக மின்தடை.. மின்வாரிய அலுவலகத்தை முற்றுகையிட்டு பொதுமக்கள் போராட்டம்..#Thiruvallur | #Avadi | #PowerCut | #Protest | #PolimerNews pic.twitter.com/B62tWhmRGj

— Polimer News (@polimernews) September 17, 2026

Taking a dig at CTR Nirmal Kumar, Udhay accused the energy minister of spreading unnecessary and misleading information instead of fixing the issues. The “fuse-blown” Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) administration, he said, was struggling even with basic necessities such as electricity.

Other opposition parties, including the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), have also attacked the Vijay government over undeclared load shedding and alleged irresponsible handling of the demand surge.

Officials of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board have said that peak power demand has risen significantly. From last year’s peak demand of around 16,000-17,000 MW, it has climbed to about 19,000–20,500 MW.

The surge is being attributed to an extended summer that has kept cooling appliance usage high even in September. Another factor is a steep fall in wind power generation.

Going by the electricity department data, Tamil Nadu has about 3.5 crore electricity consumers, of which roughly 2.46 crore are household users.

Domestic demand forms a major share of overall load, especially for cooling during the prolonged heat. High-Tension (HT) industrial and commercial demand accounts for a substantial volume of energy sales, though HT sales by the utility have declined in recent years as many industries shift to captive generation and open-access renewable power.

Of the approximately 46,000-47,000 MW total installed capacity, renewable sources such as wind, solar, hydro, biomass and co-generation account for about 28,348 MW, while conventional sources of thermal power make up around 18,500 MW. State-owned generation remains limited at roughly 3,495 MW.

Wind and solar form the bulk of renewables but are variable. Officials of Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) say wind output has fallen by about 1,500 MW this September. On the other hand, the energy sourced from renewable energy sources is also limited. Solar generation drops after afternoon hours, and wind is seasonal.

Ageing infra, stagnant tariff

Earlier in May, TNEB former chairperson J. Radhakrishnan had pointed out issues of ageing transmission, no change in tariffs for many years and old distribution infrastructure that lead to power cuts. The Board had pointed out severe manpower shortages in the electricity department.

Industry stakeholders question why HT consumers are unable to obtain standing clearances from the State Load Despatch Centre for open-access purchases from the Indian Energy Exchange since June. It is otherwise common for such consumers to buy electricity directly from power exchanges under the open access system, instead of depending entirely on the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL).

This has forced roughly 1,000 MW of industrial demand to be met through TNPDCL, at a time when it is itself buying extra power. Since March, the government has not made any approval for renewable energy developers. No fresh applications have been invited amid a review process.

Responding to the issue on Wednesday, the energy minister said that there is no overall power shortage due to generation deficits after emergency measures. Localised cuts, he said, stem mainly from transmission and distribution faults.

“Wind (power) generation has slowed as is usual in September but demand this year is more than 2,000 MW higher this year. Last week, we procured 2,000 MW, and today there is again a shortage of 1,500 MW. So, the team has managed to purchase another 1,500 MW to manage the situation,” Kumar told the media.

Chennai, Tamil Nadu: On Power Supply in the State, Minister C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar says, "See, you know that there is a shortage due to the wind generation and wind blow has slowed down and it is usual every September it used to slow down, but when compared to last year, this year… pic.twitter.com/RxKD0OtXFd

— IANS (@ians_india) September 15, 2026

“Definitely, you would have seen that in all other states, they are facing the same power shortage, and other states have gone for load shedding because they don’t want to purchase additional power.”

In June, Kumar had presented a White Paper on the power sector highlighting the debt burden of around Rs 2.47 lakh crore. He flagged issues of ageing assets as well as vacancies, while proposing a multi-thousand-crore push for generation, transmission, distribution modernisation, and a shift toward greater renewable integration with storage, targeting 50 percent renewables in the power mix by 2031.

On Wednesday, Kumar noted that Tamil Nadu is prioritising continuous supply to avoid public inconvenience. He added that long-term power purchase agreements were being pursued and expected to start yielding results in the coming months.

(Edited by Tony Rai)