Tamil Nadu moves SC to get Delhi's surplus power

The Tamil Nadu government Monday moved the Supreme Court, demanding that the central government be restrained from allocating Delhi's winter-time surplus power to any state other than itself.

The Delhi government has decided to surrender 230 MW of round-the-clock power and 1,491 MW of power from midnight to 6 a.m. that has become surplus during winter months.

The Tamil Nadu government petition has urged the apex court to direct the central government to allocate this entire power to the southern state suffering acute power shortage.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, the petition said, had Oct 5 requested the union power ministry to re-allocate the entire power being surrendered by Delhi to her state since it is reeling under severe shortage of power.

Jayalalithaa, in her letter, had also requested the power ministry to arrange to provide necessary transmission corridor for availing Delhi's excess power.

The petition said that there was total absence of response from the power ministry to Tamil Nadu's request.

Assailing the absence of response, the petition said the central government has failed in its statutory duty to provide for adequate infrastructural facilities as mandated by the Electricity Act, 2003.

It contended that it was only the central government which had the power to re-allocate the surplus power surrendered by states, and no other authority has the power to take the decision.

The central government's failure to re-allocate surplus power to Tamil Nadu, the petition said, has compounded the acute power shortage faced by the state's people.

"It is the right of the state of Tamil Nadu to demand for the surrendered power to meet the extreme power shortage faced by the State," the petition said.

The petition has also pleaded for directions to the central government to provide for the necessary transmission corridor to ensure the compliance of its statutory responsibilities to provide smooth interstate transmission of power in accordance with Section 37 and 38 of the Indian Electricity Act, 2003.