Power-starved Tamil Nadu will get additional 1,100 MW of electricity by March this year if Vallur and Mettur thermal power projects (TPP) are commissioned as scheduled.

According to Tangedco officials, the first 500 MW unit of the Vallur TPP will be commissioned by March. “The first unit was supposed to be commissioned by January but the scheduled was changed to March due to some delay. We are hopeful of meeting deadline this time around,” said a senior official.

The 1,500 MW plant is being set up at the cost of Rs 8,444 crore. The official said that the second and third units would be commissioned by June this year and February 2013.

The 600 MW Mettur TPS, which was initially scheduled to produce power by September 2011, will be commissioned by March 2012.

The commissioning of 1,200 MW North Chennai thermal power station stage-2 is likely to be delayed further. Unit I was originally schedule to go on stream by May last year but has been subsequently revised to February 2012 and then to October. The delay had been due to accidental drowning of a key accessory ‘stator’ in a river in Madhya Pradesh during transit from BHEL plant in Haridwar to Chennai last year.

“Now BHEL has dispatched the stator for the unit II recently. From Haridwar it will be transported by road to Mudra Port from there it will reach Ennore port,” the official said.

The total power demand in Tamil Nadu is estimated to be11,500 MW. The actual generation by Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) projects is 8,500 MW.