The demand for power this year has been very high due to the continuous dry-spell in the state, admits the government.
Andhra Pradesh is heading towards a major power crisis in the next few months.
Making a statement on the floor of the state Legislative Assembly on behalf of Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, Information Minister Kanna Lakshminarayana said that the demand for power has been growing with each passing day.
On an average, APDISCOMS have supplied 245 MU against an average demand of 261 MU per day during the month of February. The demand from April 2011 to February this year was 81,320 MU, against 71,301 MU for the corresponding period last year, registering an increase of 14%.
The minister said that the demand for power this year has been very high due to the continuous dry spell in the state, leading to an increased demand from the agricultural and domestic sectors.
The energy deficit in the state during the current year is 6.2%, as compared to the all-India average deficit of 8.1%.
Kanna Lakshminarayana said that despite a capacity addition of 5,311 MW in AP during the last 7 years, the state faces a power deficit.
The deficit is mainly on account of the reduced production of gas in the KG Basin, he stated.
According to the government, the 9 gas-based projects, with an installed capacity of 2,772 MW, are currently generating only around 1,500 MW. There is an idle capacity of around 1,272 MW (30 MU/day) due to a reduced supply of gas.
Hydel generation this year so far has been only 5,837 MU, as against 7,048 MU last year. The total water availability in the major reservoirs of Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar and Sileru is 90 TMC at present, against 341 TMC last year, thereby resulting in a deficit of around 1,195 MU.
The additional hydel generation during the year is expected to be only around 887 MU, as against 2,082 MU of hydel potential during last year.
The minister said that the during the SCCL strike period in September and October 2011, an additional 72 TMC of water was used in Srisailam, and 11 TMC of water in Sileru, to maintain satisfactory power supply, as thermal generation from NTPC and APGENCO stations came down due to reduced coal supply.
Lakshminarayana said that the state has taken action in advance to purchase power during the period from February to May 2012, and that orders were placed outside the Southern Region for the purchase of 1,387 MW of power in August 2011.
However, due to severe transmission corridor constraints between the North-East - West (NEW) Grid and the Southern Region Grid, AP could get only 546 MW of power.
In addition to the above, 734 MW is being procured from the Southern Region. A total of 1,280 MW of power is being purchased from February to May 2012.
The central government has allocated additional 231 MW of power from NTPC Jhajjar Unit from October 2011 to May 2012.
The minister said that despite the above constraints, 7 hours of free power supply to 29.84 lakh agriculture pumpusets was being ensured. Supply is also being ensured to drinking water schemes, he asserted.
He added that lighting load supply from 6pm to 6am in all the rural and urban areas is being ensured.
Load relief is being availed in towns and mandal headquarters during the day, industries are being given load relief of up to 30% depending on the power demand-supply gap, he said.
Industries are being given open access without cross subsidy surcharge to meet the power requirement, he said.
The minister said that around 28,082 distribution transformers were being kept as rolling stock, to replace failed distribution transformers within 48 hours in rural areas.
A High Voltage Distribution System (HVDS) has been implemented for 7.10 lakh pumpsets out of a total of 29.84 lakh pumpsets in the state. A scheme for taking up HVDS in 2.43 lakh pumpsets, with a financial assistance of Rs. 988.80 crore from JICA, will be taken up from the next year.
A massive investment of around Rs. 14,000 crore is being planned in the transmission and distribution sectors, over the next 4 years, to augment the transmission and distribution infrastructure.
The minister said that despite constraints, the state government was fully committed to protect the interest of all the sections of the society, particularly farmers. (INN)