BANGALORE: As soon as the monsoons set in, the state will get 117 MW of power every week from the Jurala hydro-electric project in Andhra Pradesh.
The memorandum of understanding signed by the two states in 2011 will be implemented from this year and the state will get power once a week, Energy Minister D K Shivakumar said on Monday. He was speaking at the signing of a power purchase agreement (PPA) to share power from the Priyadarshini Jurala hydro-electric project between Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd and Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation (APGENCO). He said the amount of power to be shared was agreed upon by government officials from both the states.
Though the project was conceived in 1978, it really took shape only after over three decades. The minister said the additional power supply is expected to reduce load-shedding in the state. Karnataka will get half the power generated and has to pay Rs 3.23 per unit annually. Shivakumar said the agreement lasts till 2023-2024.
The Project
Six units of the multi-purpose project were commissioned in August 2011, 33 years after it was first conceived during the Devaraj Urs government in the state. The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs 720 crore (`3 per MW) and this will be borne by the two states equally. The power block cost Rs 140 crore and this two will be shared equally. Karnataka has already paid its share of Rs 70 crore, the minister said.