TAMILNADU
- Government mulls giving free power in lieu of land for sub-station
- The problem of acquiring land for sub-stations will be a thing of the past soon, as Tangedco is mulling over providing free power to land owners (farmers) – who have applied and waiting – ready to part with their land in rural areas. A similar scheme is already in place with regard to farmers sharing their land for setting up transmission towers.
The House has been witnessing demand from several members for either building a new sub-station or upgrading the existing ones with a higher capacity.
- In urban areas, Tangedco is going in for gas insulated sub-station as it requires less land. “A gas insulated sub-station is a high voltage sub-station in which the major structures are contained in a sealed environment with sulfur hexafluoride gas as the insulating medium. This requires less extent of land, but the initial investment is high. These types of sub-stations are set up only in urban areas.
- If the government bites the bullet and announces free power in lieu of land for sub-stations, the subsidy component is likely to increase. The government has to reimburse around Rs 7,400 crore as subsidy to Tangedco this financial year.