Tamil Nadu spinning mills in a quandary over networking charges for rooftop solar energy plants

Textile mills that got relief from the Madras High Court last December regarding payment of networking charges to the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) for rooftop solar energy installations are in a quandary as a recent circular by the Tamilnadu Power Distribution Corporation has asked the Superintending Engineers to continue levying networking charges from all low tension(LT) and high tension (HT) consumers who use the grid for solar rooftops.

S. Jagadesh Chandran, secretary of the South India Spinners Association (SISPA), told The Hindu that the representatives of the Association met the Chairman and Managing Director of Tangedco last week and sought relief on the issue.

“We do not know what to do. A Division Bench of the High Court stayed for one textile mill the order issued by the Madras High Court in December 2024. However, the TNPDCL has asked the SEs to continue collecting the networking charges from all mills,” he said.

“All Superintending Engineers are requested to continue to levy the networking charges from all the HT/LT consumers who are operating their rooftop solar generators with the support of Tangedco’s grid (even if the grid dependence is for reference voltage) as the Division Bench of the Honourable Court of Madras has granted interim stay of the operation of the common order dated December 22, 2024,” the circular said.

The textile mills are using renewable energy and it brings down their production cost and boosts the competitiveness of the mill. So the TNPDCL should not collect networking charges from all the mills. The December 2024 order for a case filed by SISPA is a big relief to the textile units, he said.

Industry sources told The Hindu that almost 50% of power consumption by 70% of textile mills in Tamil Nadu comes from renewable energy sources.