CHENANI: The Left parties on Wednesday slammed the Tamil Nadu govt’s plan to procure short-term electricity from the open market at an exorbitant rate of Rs 35 per unit to offset the ongoing power shortage. Demanding an immediate rollback of the proposal, both CPM and CPI urged the state to secure power at reasonable tariffs through transparent procurement processes.
Taking a dig at the power utility’s crisis management, Shanmugam noted that while the state had been reeling under severe supply deficits, officials and the state electricity board had spent weeks denying reports of load shedding despite widespread complaints from consumers and political parties. Veerapandian expressed his opposition to the rollout of smart meters and the alleged move to unbundle and privatise transmission infrastructure. He cautioned that such policy decisions would ultimately trigger steep tariff hikes for end consumers and pave the way for the eventual privatisation of the state power utility. CPI urged the govt to scale up thermal and renewable generation through public sector undertakings to ensure affordable power for all.