Power Crisis Will Be Normalised By Month End: AP Energy Secretary Sridhar

VIJAYAWADA: Energy Secretary B Sridhar said the power shortage in the state was gradually coming under control and would be normalised by the end of this month. Speaking to the media on Saturday, at the Vijayawada R&B building, the energy secretary maintained that this was a temporary situation, and added that normalcy to be restored by the month-end, after the harvest season ends.

He made it clear that their priority was to provide an uninterrupted power supply to households. Discoms were instructed to see to it that the hospitals had no difficulties and asked consumers to understand the situation and cooperate. He said that there was a problem with electricity across the country due to the shortage of coal since October last year and that the price of coal had also gone up tremendously. 

There was increased power consumption in the state post-COVID situation and the demand for electricity purchases in the open market domestically are some of the main reasons for power shortage, he said. While the consumption of domestically produced coal has also increased and availability has declined.  The price of coal, which was Rs 6,000 in the past, has now gone up from Rs 17,000 to Rs 40,000.

The secretary also informed that Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was talking to the Prime Minister about the supply of coal, and had written letters to the Ministries of Railways, Coal, and Energy. The YSRCP MPs met them and submitted representations, about the shortage of coal stocks in the State. Elaborating on the reasons for power shortage, he said there is a dearth of coal needed for power production since October last year and added the Ministries of Power, Coal and Railways are regulating it.

The power demand for both Telugu states is around 500 MU. In our State, the annual average of daily demand has increased to 190 MU from 132 MU in 2014, he said. The average power consumption in the state in 2014–15 was 130 million units and has now reached 190 million units. At present, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh together need a total of 500 million units.

Also, the state needs an average of 235 million units per day, with a total capacity of 80 to 85 MU by AP Genco, 45 MU by NTPC, 10 MU by IPPS, 25 MU by Solar and 10 MU by Wind, for a total of 175 MU.

There will still be a deficit of 55 million units. We are buying up to 30 million units. In March, we bought 1,551 million units of electricity at Rs 1,058 crore at Rs 8.11 per unit. There is still a deficit of 20–25 MU.

While solar plants supply 25 MU, wind generates 10 MU. Nuclear and other sources make up for the rest. There is a gap of 55 MU, of which 30-35 MU is being procured from the market (power exchanges) and the shortage of around 20 MU is now being adjusted with load relief measures, he said.

In March alone, the State purchased 1,551 million units of power from the market at a cost of Rs 1,258 crore, which is Rs 8.11 per unit. Pointing out that the situation is the same in all southern states due to the early summer, Sreedhar said even Gujarat and Maharashtra are implementing power holidays to shed the load. 

B.Sridhar IAS, Secretary, Energy Govt of AP at R&B Building, Vijayawada Press Meeting

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