The Puducherry government has received proposals from ten companies to set up power plants in the state.
Speaking on the sidelines of a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII’s) council meeting here, chief minister V Vaithilingam said ten companies were keen on setting up coal-based power plants at Puducherry and Karaikal with a total capacity of 500 mega watt.
He declined to reveal the names of the companies but said the total investment would be around Rs 2,500 crore.
“Our thrust will be on power now. The state, which is facing power shortage, wants to become a power export state over the next five to six years,” he said. The state is currently facing a shortage of around 100 Mw.
According to the chief minister, the Centre is giving 75 Mw of excess power, of which 25 Mw was released last week. The remaining would come this week.
Of the total power produced by the companies, only 20 per cent would be used for local consumption and the rest would be sold to other states, he said.
The CII urged the government to initiate reforms in the power sector. A senior industry representative said if an industry wanted to get power connection in the state it had to wait for at least 18 months, whereas in Tamil Nadu they need not wait for more than three months.