YSR Congress Party president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy has suggested the Telangana Government to think about swapping of power to overcome the demand-supply gap to a large extent.
Mr. Reddy asked Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to examine his suggestion as Telangana could not evict the power purchased from Chhattisgarh immediately due to lack of dedicated transmission lines for the purpose.
Explaining his idea at a press conference here on Tuesday, the YSRCP chief said the Telangana government could give the power purchased in Chhattisgarh to NTPC by injecting it to the National Grid and utilise an equal amount of it generated at NTPC’s 2,600 MW Ramagundam station, in which 75 per cent goes to central pool. Such a step could also resolve the row over Srisailam water being used for power generation by Telangana, he noted.
Telangana could do similar swapping, if it purchased additional power from Chhattisgarh, by swapping it with National Grid from the second phase of 1,000 MW of Simhadri station, in which central pool accounted for 60 per cent, Mr. Reddy said.
On the controversy over utilisation of Srisailam water, the YSRCP president said late Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had raised the minimum draw down level (MDDL) in the reservoir to 854 feet in 2004 to rectify a mistake committed by the TDP regime in the past so as to enable draw water to several projects from Pothireddypadu regulator, whose sill level was only 840 feet. Ignoring that fact, the then Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu fixed the MDDL at 834 feet in 1996.
Admitting that Telangana was facing severe power crisis, he felt that it did not mean that the State was inhuman to the water needs of another drought-prone area like Rayalaseema. The situation would not have arisen had Mr. Naidu showed sincerity and maturity, he said and pointed that the AP had raised voice only after the water level in Srisailam dropped to 858 feet after power generation by both sides.
On the raging row over ‘diversion’ of funds between AP and TS, Mr. Reddy said the Governor should resolve it amicably.
