Even as the government made sudden top level changes at the TNEB by transferring its chairman MB Pranesh to head the TN Corporation for Industrial Infrastructure Development (Tacid) now merged with State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (Sipcot), there was nothing to indicate the government's thinking on such crucial matters as cutting down power subsidies to agriculture sector, restructuring and privatisation of transmission and distribution and revamp of the TNEB generation policy to meet effectively growing power needs of the state.

The only thing that chief minister Karunanidhi has chosen to highlight is the higher allocation of Rs 422 crore towards streamlining the electricity distribution system. But this is something which has been talked about often in the pastwithout being able to plug leakages, thefts and unscheduled load-shedding in the state. It is claimed that TN has one of the lowest electricity transmission and distribution losses but that is not of much comfort when it is realised that the state still has to reckon with 17 per cent losses. This effectively means a loss of around over 1000 mw annually which in turn also means substantial revenue loss for the board.

On the positive side, the budget indicates that additional resources will be raised from the capital market for infrastructure projects. TNEB raised Rs 297 crore in the current financial year through issue of state government guaranteed bonds.

The state's first private sector power project of 196 mw capacity at Basin Bridge is commissioned and the GMR Vasawi plant is to be formally inaugurated on March 28. Some other private sector power projects like Pillaipermalnallur 330 mw, Samayanallur 106 mw, Samalpatti 106 mw and ST-CMS 250 mw project at Neyveli are to be commissioned soon.

Althoughnearly another 210 mw are to be generated by TNEB from some smaller projects in the next financial year, the state government has to take priority steps to manage the yawning gap between demand and supply which is now of the order of 500 mw and steadily growing. The budget also does not promise much relief for the HT consumers who will continue to bear the brunt of tariff charges.