Focus on three areas to boost rural economy in Andhra Pradesh

VIJAYAWADA: Energy Secretary Srikant Nagulapalli has said that the State government is focusing on three areas— to establish 10,000 megawatts (MW) solar power plants in the four districts of Rayalaseema, to provide free agriculture power for the next three decades, and empower farmers through implementation of direct benefit transfer of agriculture power subsidy—to stimulate agriculture growth and rural economy. The Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), an energy service company of the Government of India,  has come forward to support the State government and said that it would “fully support” the efforts of AP in enhancing energy performance, solar power development and smart metering.

EESL managing director Rajat Sud met the Energy Secretary and discussed the potential of energy efficiency and various schemes, particularly in rural areas, according to a statement from the department on Sunday. 

Appreciating the government for implementing direct benefit transfer (DBT) of agriculture power subsidy, the EESL managing director said that the direct delivery of power subsidies focuses primarily on improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of delivering power subsidies to the farmers.