Chennai: Opposition parties continued their attack on TVK govt for the power purchase plan, while Left parties, which are supporting the state govt, also joined the assault.AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami alleged that the proposed power purchase agreement was nothing but “mega corruption.’ EPS said TVK govt cancelled power purchase agreements of the previous DMK govt for ₹11 to ₹20 per unit, alleging there was corruption, but has now decided to purchase electricity at higher rates.DMK MP Kanimozhi questioned TVK govt for planning to spend a huge sum on electricity procurement while claiming that the treasury was empty.CPM and CPI demanded that the govt drop the proposal and urged the state to secure power at reasonable tariffs through transparent procurement processes. CPM state secretary P Shanmugam expressed shock over the proposed procurement rate, alleging that the govt was allowing private energy majors to profit at the expense of the public exchequer by exploiting the deficit.“When one unit of electricity costs ₹35, it feels like an electric shock,” he said in a post on X. The govt ought to have anticipated the seasonal shortfall and initiated timely procurement instead of resorting to panic buying at inflated prices, he said.Echoing similar concerns in a separate statement, CPI state secretary M Veerapandian questioned the fiscal prudence of procuring 4,500 MW from the spot market at ₹35 a unit, warning that it would severely strain the power utility’s existing debt burden. CPI urged the govt to scale up thermal and renewable generation through public sector undertakings to ensure affordable power for all.State electricity minister C T R Nirmal Kumar, however, defended the decision, saying it was an inevitable interim measure to prevent long hours of power cuts.
