The Telangana State government may buy energy from private power producers in Karnataka, besides drawing from Chhattisgarh, to overcome the ongoing power crisis in the State.
Following a review meeting conducted by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday, officials of the energy department prepared a short-term contingency plan for facing the present power challenge. Accordingly, about 200 MW of power would be tied up with private producers of Karnataka, while the State’s share of power from KSK Mahanadi plant of Chhattisgarh is expected to be available shortly.
A power purchase agreement was signed for 500 MW of power from KSK Mahanadi project in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, of which Telangana would get nearly 270 MW. The plant is under overhauling and power may be available in three days, officials informed.
The State is facing a shortage of about 500 MW due to shutdown of two units of RTPP and one unit of Dr. NTTPS also known as VTPS, both located in Andhra Pradesh. This has resulted in shortage of 630 MW of power between both States, necessitating tedious load reliefs which reached up to five hours in the city on Thursday.
Mr. Rao, in his review meeting, has also asked the officials of the energy department to chart out plans to draw transmission lines from Chhattisgarh to the State, via Wardha. Further, he also asked the officials to enquire about the availability of power in other States for sale.
