Eastern Grid will provide 800 MW of power from 11pm to 6am, and the Haryana government will provide 200 MW round the clock from Jhajjar power plant.
Following Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy's request to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to come to the rescue of Andhra Pradesh because of its severe power shortage, and as per the Prime Minister's directions, Eastern Grid will provide 800 MW of power from 11pm to 6am, and the Haryana government will provide 200 MW round the clock from Jhajjar power plant.
The CM thanked the Manmohan Singh, and the Eastern Power Grid and the Haryana government, for the gesture. He directed the officials of the Energy Department to take immediate action accordingly.
It may be recalled here that the Chief Minister spoke to the Principal Secretary to the PM, Pulok Chatterjee, over telephone on Monday night, and also to the PM earlier, and sought additional power. The CM explained to the PM the precarious situation in NTPC and other thermal power plants in AP due to the coal shortage precipitated by the ongoing strike in Singareni Collieries.
The CM also explained that the agricultural sector in Andhra Pradesh is passing through a crucial phase, and that if power supply at the present level is not ensured there is danger of the standing crop getting damaged.
He told him that the state government has been trying out various ways to save the standing crop, and to shield the common man from the power crisis.
The CM requested the Ministry of Power, Government of India, for the allocation of an additional 500 MW from Central Generation Stations (CGS) to Andhra Pradesh. The Centre has allocated 185 MW of additional power so far.
The Ministry of Power, Government of India, was requested to allocate an additional 300 MW from the Central Generating Stations of the Southern Region.
The CM said that NTPC Ramagundam is generating only 1,400 MW out of 2,600 MW. Similarly, NTPC Simhadri is generating 1,300 MW as against its capacity of 1,500 MW.
The AP government has requested for the diversion of 1.3 MMSCMD of gas of GMR Vemagiri, which has been shut down since 17 Septembe this year, to other gas-based projects in AP to generate an additional 350 MW.
A meeting of an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) has needs to be convened by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India, for the above diversion.
The Chief Minister also requested the Ministry of Coal to allocate an additional 2 lakh tonnes from Western Coal Fields to APGenco. (INN)