In Tamil Nadu politics, the power game has acquired a literal meaning. Electricity Minister C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar, who once turned up the heat on the DMK over expensive power purchases, now finds himself answering uncomfortable questions over electricity bought at rates touching ₹35 per unit. DMK’s former electricity minister V. Senthil Balaji lost no time to plugging the controversy into the opposition’s political machinery.
Electricity and unprecedented power cuts has become an unexpected test of credibility for the C. Joseph Vijay-led TVK government in Tamil Nadu. The irony here is hard to miss. The TVK and Vijay who once alleged power purchase as an issue of mismanagement under the DMK is now struggling hard with the same issue, which has turned into an accountability test for the government.
The Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL) has finalised a tender to procure power from private companies to address power shortage and ensure uninterrupted supply. On October 12, suppliers had quoted rates ranging from ₹31.99 to ₹37 per unit. The decision has prompted sharp criticism across sectors and particularly from the opposition DMK, which has accused the TVK government of mismanaging the power sector. The political irony is difficult to miss. Nirmal Kumar had previously questioned the DMK government over electricity purchases at rates of around ₹20 per unit. Now, the price has climbed considerably higher, giving the opposition an opportunity to turn the minister’s earlier criticism against the DMK government.
Speaking to reporters, Senthil Balaji, claimed that the previous government had paid a maximum of ₹20 per unit during periods of peak demand. He argued that advance tendering helped the previous administration manage the summer demand surge and that purchases from the open market were made when government power stations faced problems. “TVK government has reduced the contribution of its own generating stations and become excessively dependent on private suppliers. He also claimed that the DMK government had sold 8,600 million units of surplus electricity to other states. These are opposition claims that require verification against generation, procurement and sales data, but they raise questions the government cannot answer merely by attacking its predecessor. The ₹35 per unit cost has turned into a controversy because Nirmal Kumar had made expensive procurement and alleged irregularities in the electricity sector central to his criticism of the previous administration.
TNPDCL had planned to procure up to 3,000 MW to meet evening and midnight demand in October, exceeding the 2,400 MW arranged for the peak summer months earlier in the year, when purchase rates ranged from ₹6.50 to ₹12 per unit. The sharp difference has raised several questions, even when prices under different contracts and procurement periods cannot be compared fairly without examining their terms, delivery schedules and supply conditions. “We have been pushed to pay a higher price because there is peak demand due to the El Niño effect. We are procuring from Assam the power produced from gas plants, which is expensive,” Nirmal Kumar explained.
For Nirmal Kumar, the challenge is no longer simply to expose alleged irregularities inherited from the DMK, but to show that the government can deliver uninterrupted electricity supply without placing an avoidable burden on public finances. Ultimately, the question of the ₹35 per unit of power is bigger than a war of words between two electricity ministers, past and present. It concerns whether Tamil Nadu's power procurement is being planned in advance or managed through expensive last minute arrangements.
But the political irony is difficult to miss. Nirmal Kumar had previously questioned the DMK government over electricity purchases at rates of around ₹20 per unit. Now, the price has climbed considerably higher, giving the opposition an opportunity to turn the minister’s earlier criticism against his own government.
