24-hour power supply to all from October: Naidu

The Chandrababu Naidu led govt marks 100 days in office with new MoUs

Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu today declared that his government would ensure round-the-clock supply of power to industry and domestic consumers from next month.

“We are already in a position to meet the full demand. However, I am just waiting to have some surplus in the system so that my promise of 24-hour supply to households and industry is implemented without any hitch,” he said. AP will be the second state to achieve this distinction after Gujarat, according to him.

Marking the completion of 100 days in office, the Andhra Pradesh government on Tuesday signed a number of MoUs with private and central government entities for projects entailing a total investment of over Rs 80,000 crore of which the power sector contributes a substantial portion.

These projects include 2,500 Mw of solar power parks proposed to be set up in three different locations and a 4,000-Mw super critical thermal power project proposed in Visakhapatnam district by NTPC Limited. The government also signed a joint statement with the Centre towards committing 24-hour supply of power for all in the state.

NTPC chairman Arup Roy Choudhury and AP energy secretary Ajai Jain signed the MoU for the proposed thermal power project while the government handed over the allotment letter for 1,200 acres of land for the project to the company. The chief minster also handed over over 1,100 acre land to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for a project in his native Chittoor district.

Power Minister Piyush Goyal, who was present on the occasion complimented the chief minister on taking up these initiatives within a short span of 50 days. “Naidu is a role model chief minister. His present tenure will take the state to new heights in terms of growth and development,” he said while stating that Naidu’s partnership with Prime Minister Narendra Modi would come in handy for the development of the country at large.

By 2019, AP will have 27,000 Mw of installed capacity, three times that of the present capacity in the state, he said.

Goyal advised the AP government to encourage consumers to pay their power bills through bank accounts to give a further push to the Jan Dhan Yojana'.