In a significant development, Chief Minister K. Rosaiah announced that the State government had no objection to a proposal for allowing ‘open access' to industries which come forward to buy power from private developers at higher costs.
Participating in an interactive session with members of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here on Saturday, the Chief Minister said that the power supply situation in the State was ‘precarious'. The government was exploring various options to bridge the wide gap between the demand and supply caused by various factors, including the free power to the farm sector.
Rosaiah's offer
“The industry is asking for open access to purchase power which I can straight away accept,” he said, adding the government was prepared to spare its transmission lines if industry could secure power from outside sources.
On the suggestion that the government purchase power at higher costs for ensuring uninterrupted supply to industry, Mr. Rosaiah said though the issue was under the active consideration of the government, it needed the approval of the AP Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC).
‘Demand increasing'
Admitting that industry was looking at the government to augment generation, he said though it was a serious problem, avoiding power cut at the current juncture was not possible.
“The demand is increasing by the day and we have to manage free power to the farm sector, domestic and commercial consumers besides meeting the requirements of industry,” he said.
‘Curbs unavoidable'
The government was in regular touch with the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and other agencies and it was left with no other option but to impose restrictions on consumption, he added.
