Andhra seeks Rs 15,718-crore central aid for 24X7 power

The Andhra Pradesh government has urged the Centre to provide financial assistance to the tune of Rs 15,718 crore to support its round-the-clock Power For All (PFA) Programme.

The PFA initiative requires a total expenditure of Rs 54,332 crore during the next five years up to 2018-19. The state government is contemplating meeting the balance amount by taking financial assistance from PFC, Rural Electrification Corporation and various banks.

It may be noted the Centre had selected Andhra Pradesh as one of the three states for the implementation of the PFA programme.During a review meeting, secretary (energy department), Ajay Jain said he had requested the Centre to provide additional allocation of power through Central Generating Stations quota, additional supply of coal and for issuing instructions to Power Grid Corporation for expediting the765-Kv Angul-Srikakulam transmission line so that the state could get additional corridor capacity of around 2,500 Mw from outside.