COIMBATORE: With the industrial production and service sector hit due to the nation-wide lockdown, power consumption in the Coimbatore region, which comprises Coimbatore, Erode and Tirupur districts, has come down by nearly half. Only 22.44 Million Unit (MU) electricity was consumed on Wednesday, against the average 42-43 MU consumed during the pre-lockdown period.
To control the spread of novel coronavirus, the Centre implemented nation-wide lockdown from Wednesday. Due to this, production in the industrial establishments were halted; malls, shops, education institutions and hotels were all closed.
A senior official in Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO) in Coimbatore region said, "On usual days, the power consumption averages 42 MU. After lockdown, the power usage is reducing gradually, for the past few days."
"On March 19, the power usage was 49.13 MU, which was the highest power consumption in March. Before the lockdown on March 24, the power consumption was 33.82 MU. On the first day of lockdown (March 25), the power consumption was 22.44 MU. The consumption has come down by up to 20 MU after lockdown. Hence in the coming days, we except the power usage may decrease further," he added.
Another official said, "There are seven Electricity Distribution Circles (EDS) in Coimbatore region, including Coimbatore Metro, North, South, Nilgiris, Palladam, Udamalpet and Tirupur. Coimbatore and Tirupur district are the industrial hub, hence the consumption is normally high. There are a lot of handloom power units in Palladam and Tirupur, and other industry sectors in Coimbatore south and north. At present, these industries are not consuming electricity due to halt in production. But, domestic connections and street connections are in use. Consequently, the total power usage has reduced"
"Due to COVID-19, a few consumers are reducing the usage of air conditioners and fridge in their home, as they are believing that there is chance of virus spreading through these machines. This is also one of the reason for reduction in electricity consumption," he opined.
TANGEDCO Chief Engineer in Coimbatore region K Arulmozhi said, "The power consumption usage has reduced for the past few days, as the industry hub were closed, due to lockdown. At the same time, we have ensured providing uninterrupted power supply to the household consumer during the summer session."
Tamil Nadu Electricity Tholillalar and Poriyalar Aikkiya Sangam state secretary K Veerasamy said, "As the electricity usage has reduced due to lockdown, TANGEDCO has stopped electricity production in thermal station. Because there is adequate electricity in TANGEDCO. On the other hand, the TANGEDCO has been purchasing electricity from the private firm, as per long term agreement, which is already in practice."