Power Transmission Corp will not be privatised, says TN govt

CHENNAI: Allaying the fears of privatisation of the Power Transmission Corporation, the Tamil Nadu government today said a law would be passed to prevent the corporation from being privatised in the future.

Electricity Minister Arcot N Veeraswamy recalling an assurance given by him in the Tamil Nadu Assembly in April, said, "at no point of time the corporation will be privatised.

A law would be passed to ensure that no future government also tried to privatise the corporation," in an official release here.

The Chairman of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) would also be the Chairman of the corporation, while the Chief Engineer of the TNEB would be the Managing Director, he said.

Veeraswamy was reacting to a rally by the CITU in Chennai yesterday, which, among others, protested against any privatisation move of the corporation.

"With a total of 40,500 MW of power - 7,500 MW of the central-state collaboration, 8,000 MW of the central production and 25,000 MW of merchant power - to be produced in the state in the coming years.

"All of it cannot be consumed by us and it should be shared with power-deficit states. The Transmission Corporation would do this task," Veeraswamy said while explaining the rational behind the setting up of the corporation.