TN to save Rs 11,000 crore by joining in UDAY

Tamil Nadu has become the 21st state to join UDAY (Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana). The southern state on Monday signed the memorandum of understanding to join the revival package for discoms.

"Tamil Nadu would derive an overall net benefit of over Rs 11,000 crore through UDAY, by way of savings in interest cost, reduction in AT&C and transmission losses, interventions in energy efficiency, coal reforms etc," sources said.

Former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa had firmly opposed the UDAY scheme and some progress was made when Union minister of state for power Piyush Goyal met her at the secretariat on 15 July.

Goyal had then stressed that the state will save at least Rs22,400 crore of discoms’ debt in the next three years.

After signing an MoU on Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) Scheme with Tamil Nadu on Monday, Goyal said, "Experts take a long time to understand the subject, but a 40-minute 'power-packed' meeting with 'Amma' on July 15 last year cannot be forgotten. Amma took full interest in the scheme and understood how it is in accordance with the interest of people of Tamil Nadu," he said.

Asserting that TANGEDCO would be abole to break even next year as the losses has come down significantly, the Tamil Nadu government on Monday urged the Centre to ensure regular
supply of domestic coal so that the Policy of Import Substitution would be successful.

In his speech, while signing the MOU to join the Centre's UDAY Scheme at New Delhi, Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister P Thangamani urged Piyush Goyal to instruct Coal India Limited to ensure regular supply of domestic coal so that the Policy of Import Substitution will be successful.