VIJAYAWADA: Over two-and-a-half years after bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the power departments, APGenco and APTransco, are all set to shift from Hyderabad to Vijayawada by April 1.
Their much-awaited shift has been expedited by a memo from the top, according to a senior official in the APTransco.
“More than 1,000 employees of the APGenco and APTransco are making arrangements to vacate Vidyut Soudha in Hyderabad and shift to Vijayawada following the memo. Office structures for the departments are already built and internal furnishings are under way,” said the official.
In all, over two lakh square feet office space is under construction in Vijayawada. The building premises will be called Vidyut Soudha of Andhra Pradesh. The furnishings and fittings are executed by Godrej & Boyce.
The State government has asked the staff members to scout for residential apartments here. However, top-rung officials will be provided residential quarters in NTTPS Colony in Vijayawada.
While the entire staff is expected to shift in phases by the end of Mach, the State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC) of the APTransco will be shifting in the first phase.
The SLDC is located on the Vidyut Soudha premises at Gunadala in the city and it is set for commissioning in a couple of weeks. It will be the central location from where availability of power will be monitored and despatched to all the 13 districts on a daily basis.
Speaking to The Hindu, K. Praveen Kumar, Chief Engineer, APTransco, said that the SLDC building costs about ₹10 crore and was decked up with all monitoring systems such as big LED panel, comprising 24 small screens.
“The key equipment is being tested now and will be ready for integration with the existing systems by the end of January or a few days later,” Mr. Praveen Kumar added.
A senior officer of the APTransco’s grid network of the rank of superintending engineer will be in-charge of the SLDC.
A Transco official said that the power produced by all public sector utilities and independent power producers can be watched round the clock and steps can be taken for better grid management at the facility.
It will be connected to the Southern Regional Load Dispatch Centre at Bengaluru, which is maintained by the Power System Operation Corporation Limited, a subsidiary of the Power Grid Corporation of India.
The SLDC has been set up in a G+4 building on the sprawling premises of Vidyut Soudha. A separate G+5 building at the same place will soon accommodate the headquarters of the APGenco and APTransco.
The combined State of Andhra Pradesh had a single SLDC in Hyderabad.AP got its own after bifurcation.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is expected to inaugurate the facility shortly.
