Tamil Nadu’s power board has issued its fourth short-term tender to purchase 4,900 megawatts of electricity from the open market between November and January, as the state utility prepares to manage power shortages during the three-month period.
According to a report by Dinamalar, the tender covers electricity procurement in three stages. The planned purchase is 1,400 MW in November, 700 MW in December and 2,800 MW in January. The procurement schedule makes January the largest requirement in the tender, accounting for more than half of the total capacity planned across the three months.
The tender is the fourth short-term procurement exercise issued by the power board for buying electricity from the open market. The report did not provide details of the bidders, the proposed tariff, the delivery schedule within each month or the total financial value of the tender.
Open-market procurement is being used to address a power deficit, according to the report. The decision places the utility’s immediate supply requirement at the centre of its procurement planning, with the tender structured around monthly capacity rather than a single uniform purchase for the entire period.
The procurement schedule also indicates that the utility expects its electricity requirement to vary significantly during the three-month window. The planned 1,400 MW purchase in November falls to 700 MW in December before rising sharply to 2,800 MW in January. The report does not explain the reasons for these month-wise variations or identify whether the requirement is linked to demand growth, generation availability or other operational factors.
The tender is part of the power board’s continuing effort to secure electricity from outside its own available supply in order to manage shortages. For consumers, the immediate significance of the exercise is that the utility is planning additional market purchases during a period when it expects available supply to be insufficient. However, the supplied report does not state whether the procurement will affect retail tariffs, guarantee uninterrupted supply or lead to any changes in the electricity distribution schedule.
The next steps will depend on the tender process, including the participation of power suppliers, the rates quoted and the final quantity contracted for each month. The board’s stated procurement plan covers November through January, with the highest planned purchase scheduled for January at 2,800 MW.
