Tamil Nadu Secretariat power outage hits ministers' offices

A power outage at the Tamil Nadu Secretariat on Monday morning plunged the offices of several ministers into darkness. The disruption lasted approximately 15 minutes and affected the first floor of the four-storey main building, impacting the chambers of ministers K A Sengottaiyan, N Anand, P Venkatraman, and K Vignesh, along with over 20 other rooms.

The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) attributed the incident to a technical fault in one of the electrical switches supplying power to the first floor. While the Public Works Department rectified the defect and restored power by 11:25 am, officials noted that most computers and lights turned off despite UPS backup power.

PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss criticized the state government, stating that the power crisis has now reached the seat of government. He noted that unannounced power cuts have been reported across the state for over a month and questioned why disruptions persist despite government plans to procure additional electricity to bridge the gap between demand and availability. Ramadoss urged the government to resolve the crisis on a “war footing.”