Andhra to provide 7-hour power supply during rabi

The government is initiating measures to provide seven hours of power supply to all the 3.2 million pump sets during the rabi season under efficient energy management. The state has so far spent around Rs 32,000 crore for its free power scheme this year.

Reviewing the restoration works with regard to Phailin and Helen cyclones, constraints in coal supply and proposed capacity additions, PK Mohanty, chief secretary and chairman of the State Energy Conservation Mission, has requested the authorities of NTPC and Talcher coal fields to resolve the coal crisis caused by local agitations and transport problems.

"The Centre has allocated additional coal blocks from Sarapal-Nuapada in Odisha, which have an estimated coal reserves of more than 700 million tonne. This is likely to ensure sufficient coal stocks for the proposed plants of APGenco. A communication was received by the state from the Union ministry of coal in this regard," Mohanty said.
 

Chief minister, N Kiran Kumar Reddy, is going to write a letter to the petroleum and natural gas minister for additional allocation from ONGC fields off the AP coast.

According to the chief secretary, hydel generation has been a boon and has crossed 5,000 million units (MU) during April-Nov, as against 2,000 MU generated during the same period last year.

Advising APGenco to preserve water till January 2014 for hydel generation as power demand was expected to rise due to the peak rabi season, special chief secretary, M Sahoo, said the ongoing projects of generation - Krishnapatnam Unit-I and Unit-II of 800 Mw, Kakatiya (600 Mw), Sagar tail pond (50 Mw), Lower Jurala (80 Mw), and 255 Mw from Tuticorin, 120 Mw from central generating stations and Hinduja Unit-I and Unit-II (520 Mw) - were likely to be commissioned by the end of this financial year.

"Besides, 500 Mw of solar and 500 Mw of wind energy are likely to be added by March 2014," Sahoo said.