Chennai: Chief Minister M K Stalin has ordered a subsidy of ₹2 per unit on additional electricity consumption for all types of eateries that shift from cooking gas to electric stoves, officials said.
The decision follows an assessment meeting at the Secretariat in Chennai, chaired by the Chief Minister, to address difficulties arising from a cooking gas shortage in Tamil Nadu amid a war-like situation in Gulf countries. Senior officials, including Chief Secretary Muruganandam and representatives of public sector oil companies, attended.
TANGEDCO Chairman Radhakrishnan said the subsidy will apply to restaurants, tea shops and cloud kitchens, and will be provided as long as the Centre’s commercial LPG usage restrictions remain in force. The concession will be calculated on the additional power usage, without separating consumption by appliances such as air-conditioners or heaters.
The government also directed that MSMEs affected by the gas crunch can access subsidised loans to purchase equipment such as electric stoves and heaters, with support under employment-linked schemes. Additional loan-and-subsidy support was also announced under the Tamil Nadu Women Entrepreneurs Development Scheme and the Annal Ambedkar Business Pioneer Scheme.
To ease operations, industries already holding Pollution Control Board approvals to use fuels such as LPG, CNG, diesel, furnace oil or firewood were allowed to switch to alternatives like kerosene, high-speed diesel or biomass by informing the board, without seeking fresh permission, for the duration of the cylinder-control period. The Chief Minister also ordered measures on milk procurement through Aavin, unrestricted sales at Uzhavar Sandhais, and the formation of monitoring committees at the state and district levels to oversee commercial cylinder allocation, while warning of strict action against hoarding and announcing additional kerosene supply through the public distribution system.
