Post-bifurcation, the fate of the APGenco’s 120-MW hydro-electric project at Pulichintala hangs in the balance as the State government is yet to issue guidelines as to which State – Andhra Pradesh or Telangana – should be allotted the power generated by four units of 30 MW capacity each.
Now, the contentious part of the project is that the dam is located in Pulichintala village of Guntur district, while the power plant is situated on Telangana side (in Nalgonda district).
The APTransco and the Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (SPDCL) are awaiting instructions on utilisation of power produced by this multi-purpose project named after Padma Bhushan Kanuru Lakshmana Rao. The first unit is expected to come on stream not before June 2015.
As per the existing project plan, power is to be evacuated through a 130-KV line to Huzurnagar in Nalgonda district, where a 220-KV sub-station is to be built in addition to a switch yard at the plant site itself. However, none of these works have begun so far.
Tricky issueAccording to officials, maintenance of the power plant will obviously be vested with the Telangana Genco which is in the process of formation, but power sharing is still in the realm of uncertainty. The power and water sharing formula depends on how the Krishna River Management Board looks at the issue.
Whether it will allocate the entire power to Telangana owing to the geographic location of the plant or apportion it between the two States on the basis of population and other criteria remains to be seen.
Decision after June 2A top official of the SPDCL told The Hindu that a clear picture is expected to emerge soon after the June 2, the appointed day by which time consultations of all the stakeholders would be completed. Despite instructions having been issued to the APGenco to speed up the project so as to get the first unit running by early 2015, it is inordinately delayed for various reasons.
