VIJAYAWADA: The Union Government on Monday assured to release Rs 3,300 crore to Andhra Pradesh power sector under the second tranche of Atmanirbhar loan. A delegation of AP State Energy Secretary Srikanth Nagulapalli and APGenco Managing Director G Saiprasad met Union Minister for Power, New and Renewable Energy RK Singh in New Delhi, seeking release of funds to take forward the power reforms in the State. The Union Power Ministry was all praise for AP Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for showing the way to other States in introducing DBT for free power scheme, which will empower farmers and strengthen Discoms financially, officials said.
“The AP Chief Minister has taken a bold decision on implementing the DBT scheme, which will contribute to the welfare of farmers. It is also a major step towards enhancing transparency and accountability in power sector,” the Union Minister said. Singh also assured that 30 per cent subsidy on the proposed 10,000 MW solar project for farmers free power will be provided. The AP government has proposed the solar power project to ensure free power supply to the agriculture sector for the next 30 years. The government has recently invited tenders for the project. This is one of the major developments in the meeting with the Union Minister, the officials said.
When the AP officials explained the poor financial status of Discoms due to various reasons, the Union Minister responded positively and assured that the Centre will certainly provide all support to lessen financial burden on AP Discoms. He asked the State government to list out the support it required.The officials informed him that the State government had already sanctioned Rs 17,904 crore in 2019-20 for clearing pending tariff subsidy dues and other charges.
The government will also bear a subsidy burden of Rs 11,000 crore for 2020-21. They said that the meeting with the Union Minister was fruitful and the Centre has responded positively to the all requests made by the AP government. Joint Secretary MNRE Amitesh Kumar Sinha also participated in the meeting.