Per capita power consumption in the urban area are 36.4 units and 17.016 units in the rural areas
Tamil Nadu has been ranked third and fourth in per capita, per month consumption of power in the urban and rural areas of the country
Chennai: Despite battling huge power shortages, Tamil Nadu has been ranked third and fourth in per capita, per month consumption of power in the urban and rural areas of the country.According to the latest data released by the National Sample Survey Organisation, Tamil Nadu has recorded higher household power consumption among the 20 major states including “power surplus” Gujarat.
The state’s monthly per capita power consumption in the urban area stands at 36.4 units and 17.016 units in the rural areas, against the national average of 25.837 units and 8.923 units.Himachal Pradesh has recorded the highest consumption in both urban and rural areas with 48.637 units and 31.887 units respectively. Interestingly, Kerala’s rural household consumes 17.767 units which is higher than Tamil Nadu, at 17.016 units, a report on Household Consumption of Various Goods and Services in India, 2011-12, said.
Experts say that per capita power consumption in households is one of the indicators to study the economic development of the state. A senior Tangedco official said the state has been recording growth in per capita power consumption every year. In 2013-14, the per capita annual power consumption in the state was 1,196 units, as against 1,065 units recorded in 2012-13, the official said. In 2011-12, per capita power consumption fell to 1,011 units due to acute power shortage.
Prof S. Iniyan, director of Institute of Energy Studies, Anna University, said TN cannot be ranked better than states like Gujarat and Punjab as they always recorded higher per capita power consumption. He said Gujarat consumes more power than TN as it is a highly industrialised state. Besides, there is no loadshedding in Gujarat, he said, adding that even neighbours Kerala and Andhra Pradesh perform better, compared to TN. However, he said urban areas in TN might have higher power consumption as most of the IT companies and industries are located there.
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