Tamil Nadu is likely to witness energy deficit throughout 2024-25 to 2034-35, as per report on Resource Adequacy Plan for the State released by Central Electricity Authority, under Union Ministry of Power.The report takes into account the existing, planned capacity, including the capacity required to meet Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO). As per the study, the total unserved energy in the year 2034-35 is likely to be around 45,587 million unit, which is primarily observed in the February and March.As per the Resource Adequacy Guidelines by the Union Ministry of Power, each State power distribution utility shall undertake a Resource Adequacy Plan for a 10-year horizon to meet their own peak and electrical energy requirement. The plan shall be vetted/validated by Central Electricity Authority.Resource adequacy is generally defined as a mechanism to ensure that there is an adequate supply of generation resources to serve expected demand reliably at the least cost. A key aspect of resource adequacy planning is to ensure that adequate generation capacities are available round-the-clock to reliably serve demand under various scenarios, the study said.In the fiscal year 2023-24, Tamil Nadu’s peak power demand of 19,045 MW was met without any gap, while energy required was 1,26,163 million units (MU), against energy supplied of 1,26,151 MU. As of March 2024, the total contracted capacity for Tamil Nadu is 36,593 MW. Out of the total contracted capacity (CC), the share of non-fossil fuel-based CC is 61%, as per the study.Tamil Nadu recorded an all time high peak power demand of 20,830 MW on May 2, 2024 and the record high daily consumption of 454.320 million units on April 30, 2024. The State is expected to surpass this record in 2025 summer period.As per the study, an analysis of hourly demand pattern of 2023-24 showed that the peak demand for Tamil Nadu occurs in the months of March and April. Demand Pattern of Tamil Nadu indicates that the State has a higher Day peak in comparison to its Night Peak, with the daily peak mostly occurring during the 11:00 Hrs to 15:00 Hrs, it said.The demand estimation made by the 20th Electric Power Survey was found to be lower than the projection made by the State. Therefore, the study has been carried out using the projections received from Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu has projected its peak demand to reach 35,507 MW and energy requirement to touch 2,49,580 MU respectively by 2034-2035. The study was carried out considering existing capacity and planned capacity only while meeting the annual renewable energy purchase obligations.As per the Resource Adequacy studies, the total projected contracted Capacity for the year 2034-35 is 98,140 MW. This consists of 22,497 MW from Coal, 408 MW from Gas, 2,828 MW from Nuclear, 966 MW from Biomass, 1884 MW from Hydro, 31,796 MW from Solar, 24015 MW from Wind and 13,744 MW from distributed renewable energy.To meet the projected demand reliably, an additional 7,000 MW from Coal, 5,500 MW from Solar, 5,500 MW from Wind and 11,680 MW from Storage may be required with a planning reserve margin of 19%, the study said. Further, it suggested year-wise short-term/medium-term/bilateral requirements to meet the demand optimally. The share of non-fossil fuel-based capacity in the generation mix is projected to increase to around 77% by 2034-35 from 64% in 2024-25.Published - February 23, 2025 10:57 pm IST