The 2x500 MW project was put up at a cost of ₹7,300 cr.

Union Minister for Railways and Coal Piyush Goyal on Monday dedicated to the nation a 2 x 500 MW coal-based thermal power station, jointly established by the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) and the Neyveli Lignite Corporation India Limited (NLCIL) at a cost of ₹7,300 crore.

The plant has been generating power since 2015.

Mr. Goyal also dedicated to the nation the NLCIL’s 200 MW solar power projects, established in Ramanathapuram and Virudhunagar districts at a cost of ₹704 crore.

Coal and fuel for the thermal power station are being brought from Odisha via the VOC Port here. While the NLCIL has an 89% share in this project, situated close to the 5 x 210 MW Tuticorin Thermal Power Station, the remaining 11% investment has been borne by Tangedco. The electricity being generated in these two units is being shared by Tamil Nadu (427 MW), Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry.

Addressing the event, Mr. Goyal said the thermal power station was generating electricity with coal being brought from Odisha and not with imported fossil fuel.

The Minister announced an incentive of ₹8,000 each for the workers of the NLC Tamil Nadu Power Limited for having taken the project to the power generation phase.

Mr. Thangamani said the Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK, which came to power in 2011 even as the State had been reeling from 15-hour power cuts a day under the DMK’s rule between 2006 and 2011, turned Tamil Nadu into a power-surplus State in a short period of time and accorded top priority to new investments in the power sector. Hence, Tamil Nadu would add another 6,500 MW of power to its pool in the next five years.

“Demand for power rose to 15,448 MW last Saturday...Even if the demand crosses 16,500 MW during this summer, we can meet it effectively as we’ve taken all precautionary measures,” Mr. Thangamani said.

Delayed start

Work on this project began in 2009. Though it was announced that power generation would begin in 2012, generation in the first unit began only on June 18, 2015, and the second unit commenced commercial power generation on August 29, 2015.

The Opposition parties, particularly the DMK and the Congress, had lashed out at the BJP, accusing it of organising this event to dedicate a four-year-old power station with an eye on the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. However, Mr. Goyal defended the decision, claiming that the power plant had moved to “full-fledged commercial power generation mode” only now.