Power Plants & Projects, Power Supply, Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu, Infrastructure
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu said that public interest was the topmost priority for his government.
"Providing excellent service to the consumer and quality electricity are the key focus points in the power sector. The 24x7 PFA is my dream project, and the government has targeted achieving 9,150 MW capacity through renewable energy, and realizing substantial energy savings through energy efficiency projects by FY 2018-19, which will together go a long way in making AP a solar hub and a centre of excellence for the country," Naidu said.
He directed the officials concerned to put in all-out efforts and work round-the-clock to rewrite the history of the power sector in AP by providing quality & reliable power supply, and satisfactory service, to the customers on par with global standards, by achieving self-sufficiency in the power sector.
The officials were cautioned against any complacency in this matter as the government saw the consumer as the real boss of the utilities, and his utmost satisfaction as being of paramount interest.
Moreover, the ambitious road map drawn up by the government for accelerated growth of the new State would require complete dedication from the official machinery to achieve the power-related targets in time.
The Chief Minister's comments come at a time when the Government of Andhra Pradesh is all set to sign the memorandum for the historical joint initiative with the Government of India (GoI) for the implementation of the prestigious "Power For All" (24x7) (PFA) program on 16th September with the ultimate aim of providing quality, reliable and uninterrupted power for domestic and industrial electricity consumers, which in turn will pave the way for improving the living standards of the people, providing employment & ensuring overall economic development of state.
Reviewing the modalities for the rolling out of the proposed 24x7 PFA Scheme, the Chief Minister directed the Energy Department to make all the arrangements needed to enter into separate MoUs also with NTPC (for solar & thermal projects), Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), which would go a long way in realizing the PFA.
An MoU will be signed between the GoAP and NTPC for a 1,000 MW Solar Park in NP Kunta Mandal of Anantapur district. Similarly, there will an MoU between APGENCO, New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP) & SECI for Ultra Mega Solar Parks of 2,500 MW. And the State Energy Conservation Mission will sign an MoU with EESL on energy-efficiency activities in domestic, agricultural DSM and municipal street lighting.
This joint initiative will be signed upon by the concerned Secretaries on the occasion of the completion of 100 days of the present regime, in the presence of the Chief Minister and Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal.
The Chief Minister recalled that AP had pioneered the power sector reforms in India as early as in 1998 for ensuring quality power to the people, and CRISIL had ranked AP as No. 1 at the national level in 2003. Later, the situation worsened in all aspects, he said - not just agriculture, but all other sectors suffered badly due to severe power cuts. Industry suffered losses of thousands of crores, and lakhs of workers were laid off.
Energy Secretary Ajay Jain; G Sai Prasad, Secretary, Power, CMO; and K Vijayanand, CMD/APTRANSCO & MD/APGENCO; who had together briefed the Chief Minister, said that 1,200 acres of land at Pudimadaka in Vishakhapatnam had been handed over to NTPC, which had agreed for the setting up of a mega thermal project of 4,000 MW, a boon for AP.
The Chief Minister also approved the 1,000 MW solar park to be set up by NTPC in Ananthapur, for which SECI agreed to fund Rs. 200 crores.
The CM felt that September 16th, 2014, would be remembered as a historical day in AP's power sector in view of the signing of the PFA joint initiative with the GoI which would dramatically improve the lives of the common people, Jain added.
Chief Secretary I Y R Krishna Rao, Joint Secretary (Union Ministry of Power) Jyoti Arora, NTPC CMD Arup Roy Choudhary, SECI MD Rajendra Nimje and EESL MD Saurabh Kumar are expected to attend the joint initiative signing at Lakeview Guest House. (INN)