Minister for Energy Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy has said that the Andhra Pradesh government has accorded a top priority to the power sector with a focus on industries and agriculture sectors, the backbone of the economy, while pointing out that the contribution of power utilities to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) has been and would remain substantial.
Addressing the officers and employees of AP-Genco, AP-Transco and discoms after releasing the New Year diaries and calendars here on December 28 (Wednesday), Mr. Ramachandra Reddy said concerted efforts were being made to supply quality power at affordable tariffs to consumers and the utilities had been successful in this to a large extent.
The Minister took pride in the fact that power was being supplied to farm sector for nine hours during the day free of cost and asserted that it was helping the farmers increase yields, thereby earning more on their investments.
“Power is being supplied at just ₹1.50 per unit to 66,000 aquaculture farmers and free power is being provided to 18,65,000 SC and ST households. The Discom have been instructed to clear pending applications seeking new agricultural power connections at the earliest,” said the Minister.
The Minister further said that a sum of ₹3,500 crore was being spent on power connections in the Jagananna Colonies, and consumer grievances were being attended to promptly. The new 800-MW unit at Sri Damodaram Sanjeevaiah Thermal Power Station had been commissioned recently and next in line was a new unit of equal capacity at Dr. Narla Tatarao Thermal Power Station near Vijayawada. It would be dedicated to the nation by the end of March 2023, he added.
Mr. Ramachandra Reddy said that the officers and employees had played a commendable role in securing National Energy Conservation Awards and awards for the best infrastructure and transmission utility (AP-Transco) in the country. The government was committed to solving their problems, he said.
Special Chief Secretary (Energy) K. Vijayanand said the power utilities were doing their best in spite of some problems faced by them and that they would continue to do so.
Central Discom CMD J. Padma Janardhan Reddy said the company had completed three years of its operations and had crossed quite a few milestones. AP-Genco MD and Transco CMD B. Sreedhar, EPDCL CMD K. Santosh Rao, AP-Transco Joint MD (vigilance) B. Malla Reddy, NREDCAP Vice-Chairman S. Ramana Reddy, State Energy Conservation Mission CEO A. Chandrasekhar Reddy and others took part in the programme.
