VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday directed officials to estimate the demand for power and prepare an action plan to procure coal. He also wanted them to complete the ongoing power plant works and focus on alternative power generation, including taking up pumped storage hydropower projects in the State.
Jagan who held a review meeting on demand and supply of power, said the State government has signed an MoU with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to procure 45 Million Units of power in three phases in three years.
As per the MoU, 18 MU each will be procured in the first and second phases and 9 MU in the third phase by end of 2023. Two more power plants one at Krishnapatnam and the other at VTPS with a capacity of 800 MW each are fast coming up in the State. About 48 MU of additional power will be available soon. The officials should focus on completing the new 1350 MW capacity power project at Sileru. An action plan should be evolved to ensure an uninterrupted supply of power to industries, he asserted.
The Chief Minister directed the officials to maintain the power plants under the purview of APGENCO with maximum efficiency and ensure 85% Power Load Factor (PLF) capacity so that quality power can be supplied at a low cost.To ensure power security in the future, emphasis should be laid on alternative power generation like the pumped storage hydropower projects. The officials should study 29 places where these projects are feasible. About 33,240 MW of power can be made available provided that these projects are completed. Once this project is set up, power will be available for 90 years, he explained.
Explaining the reasons for the shortage of coal and the increase in power usage in the State, the officials informed him that they procured power to meet the demand. Power was procured at an average cost of Rs 36.5 crore per day in March and Rs 34.08 crore in April. A total of 1,268.69 MU was bought in March at a cost of Rs 1,123.74 crore and 1,047.78 MU at a cost of Rs 1,022.42 crore in April to meet the demand.
Under the DBT scheme, the Chief Minister said the entire amount toward the electricity bill will be deposited in the bank accounts of farmers. “The bill payment by farmers will enable them to question power utilities for quality services, besides making the Energy Department answerable and accountable to them,’’ he said, adding that quality power will be supplied to farmers.
The officials informed him that the DBT of free power subsidy for agricultural connections implemented on a pilot basis in Srikakulam district has yielded good results. In all, 101.51 MU of power was consumed by 26,083 connections in Srikakulam in 2020-21. The number of connections rose to 28,393 in 2021-22, but the consumption was limited to 67.76 MU. The power reforms and the DBT scheme had helped save 33.75 MU, they explained.
Jagan said the YSR Jala Kala scheme should be implemented effectively. Under the scheme, the government has been sinking free borewells to farmers, besides providing motors and electrification at a cost of Rs 2 lakh to provide maximum benefit to each beneficiary farmer, he elaborated.
Energy Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma, APGENCO MD B Sridhar and NREDCAP MD NV Ramana Reddy attended the meeting.