Vijayawada: In view of the increasing electricity demand in the upcoming summer season, there is a need to put in collective efforts to provide nine hours of free power to agricultural sector and maintain 24×7 uninterrupted power supply for all other consumers, said K Vijayanand, chief secretary and special chief secretary of energy.
The chief secretary conducted a high-level review meeting with senior officials of power utilities on Saturday. He said that the govt sanctioned 40,000 new agricultural connections, out of which 12,846 connections have been released, and instructed officials to expedite the release of the remaining connections. He directed AP Transco, discoms, AP Genco and other power sector entities to accelerate project execution and timely completion of all ongoing and planned projects while ensuring reliability, efficiency, and consumer satisfaction.
“It is estimated that the peak power demand in the upcoming summer will be around 13,700 megawatts, and the electricity demand is expected to reach approximately 260 million units per day. In line with this, plans should be made to ensure that the major portion of the required power is generated by AP Genco during summer. The state govt would offer full support to AP Genco in coal procurement and transportation,” said Vijayanand.
He lauded the AP Genco for its consistent efforts in providing 50% to 53% of the entire grid demand. Proactive measures have to be taken to procure power through swap agreements, independent power producers (IPPs), and short-term power purchases, while ensuring that the burden on the public is minimized as much as possible, he said.
Reviewing the renewable energy & storage projects, the chief secretary said that the state of Andhra Pradesh has committed to adding 72.6 GW of renewable energy capacity (40 GWp of Solar, 20 GW of Wind, 12 GW of Pumped Storage, and 0.6 GW of Bio-Energy) over the next six years. The state has already approved clean energy projects worth ₹85,727 crore, which include 1,376 MW of solar and wind capacity, 1 Million Metric Tonne Per Annum (MMTPA) of Green Hydrogen, and 11,000 Tonnes Per Day(TPD) of compressed biogas production. “Further, the ministry of power has tentatively agreed to allocate 1,000 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) capacity under the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme. The state has requested an additional 1,000 MW / 2,000 MWh capacity through Central Public Sector Utility (CPSU) components like National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN)”, K Vijayanand said.
He said that AP transco successfully commissioned multiple substations and transmission lines, including a 400/220 kV Gas Insulated Substation at Thallayapalem, Guntur District, and 220/132/33 kV substations in Kurnool and Chittoor districts. Several 132 kV and 220 kV transmission lines have also been completed in Kakinada, West Godavari, and Anantapur districts.
AP Genco MD KVN Chakradhar babu, Transco JMD Keerthi Chekuri, CMDs of discoms, I Prudhvi Tej, AKV Bhaskar, K Santosha Rao, MD NREDCAP M Kamalakar Babu, joint secretary energy, BAVP Kumara Reddy and other senior officials were present.
