Centre focussing on giving more energy to southern states: Min

The central government would evolve a plan to ensure adequate electricity supply for the southern states for the next 20 years, Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal said today.
"... We will not plan for one year, two years or five years... This government is going to plan for adequate power for all the southern states for the next 20 years," he told reporters here.
Talking about electricity problems faced by the southern states and the steps taken by the Centre to improve it, he said within the next seven days about 1,000 MW additional capacity for transmission to the southern corridor will be commissioned.

This had been made possible due to "relentless monitoring" the progress on transmission lines coming to south India in the last 16 months and the power starved states would start to get more energy, he said.
He added that the 1000 MW additional power coming from power surplus north India will help southern states to get their share in lower cost.
The Minister said soon after coming to power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had insisted him to plan accordingly to provide adequate power to southern states.

He said previous governments "never invested" to provide adequate power to south India.
"In fact, many lines were stuck and delayed for months and years. After Modi government came to power, he insisted me that you have to monitor all the transmission lines to south India and we used to monitor almost on a weekly basis.

"Since the Modi Government came to power, the entire southern region had benefited from more than 3000 MW of additional electricity, he said.
Noting that there is surplus power in North, South and Eastern India, he said, "Power will be evacuated and brought to south India and state governments can procure power from an open market through a competitive transparent e-bidding.