The rains have not only brought respite from the heat but also from the huge power deficit the state was facing over the months. The electricity demand dropped by nearly 3,000 MW over the past three days and has put the power utility in a better position.
The state faced a power crisis after the Telangana agitation. The situation worsened after the coal mines in Talcher in Orissa flooded due to the rains. Power availability became a concern across the country and Tamil Nadu could not find enough power to purchase. An official said that "The situation started improving after coal started coming in and now the climate is helping. We hope to be in a comfortable situation at least till December.”

The power demand in the state stood at over 11,000MW till the northeast monsoon started on October 24. The total rainfall from October 1 to October 26 was 182.9mm, while the normal downpour every year is around 170.8mm.

On Diwali, the power demand dropped below 7,000MW. Now it fluctuates between 7,500 to 8,000MW. A senior Tamil Nadu Electricity Board official said that "There are over 1.9 million agricultural service connections and they consume around 25% of the total production. As the rains start, the farmers shift to rain water, which helps save a lot of electricity used by the pumpsets. In households, the usage of airconditioners, fans and other cooling equipment will go down.”

The drop in demand has brought a smile on the face of Chennaites as there has been no load shedding in the city since Diwali. Mr N Sridharan, a resident of Mylapore said that "I thought I will have to miss my favorite movie telecast on television due to scheduled power cuts. But there was none.”

(Sourced from TOI)