CHENNAI, APRIL 4: Even as Tamil Nadu is grappling with shaky power supply from Maharashtra and the Central grid to make up a troublesome 500 MW shortfall, the Tamil Nadu government is trying to speed up the installation of capacitors in the sub stations all over the State.Union Power Minister Rangarajan Kumaramangalam told The Indian Express from Tiruchi on Friday that the National Power Grid Corporation chairman R.P. Singh had informed him of the purchase of the new stock of shunt capacitors from BHEL, Bhopal for Tamil Nadu, and the replacement of the ageing capacitors feeding the power stations in the State would begin shortly with the collaboration of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB).``If the state government co-operates, we can finish the work in another three to four weeks and the 300 MW power supply from the North East grid can be resumed. I am confident of the state government's co-operation because the state Electricity Minister Arcot Veerasamy appears really sincere aboutcompleting the job fast,'' Rangarajan said. On the sudden hitch in the power supply from the North East grid, which was to feed Tamil Nadu every night since Tuesday midnight, Rangarajan said it was again the `aeging' shunt capacitors which had caused the `switching off' of the five reactors in Andhra Pradesh through which power is fed.``Obviously, these systems are just not designed to carry such power loads,'' Rangarajan said, adding that the state was now receiving 95 MW from the Neyveli power station. But this is grossly insufficient to make up the 500 MW shortfall in the state.According to Arcot Veerasamy, the Maharashtra government, which revived operation of the three 500 MW units which tripped on Wednesday night, has resumed supply of 100 MW to Tamil Nadu. The state, which was to receive 200 MW from the Maharashtra government, got only 100 MW from March 27. Even this had stopped following tripping of the units on April 1. According to TNEB officials, there is a technical hitch in receiving theremaining 100 MW because the feeders, both in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, are incapable.
