With demand for power mounting, the Andhra Pradesh Government will buy 3,000 MW of additional power worth Rs 7,083 crore this year. It approved a plan prepared by Andhra Pradesh Transmission Corporation Ltd (APTransco) and APPCC (AP Power Coordination Committee), to meet short-term and medium-term demand in the State.
In the short-term, power utilities will purchase 1,000 MW of power to meet demand during January to May 2012 costing Rs 1,083 crore. In the medium term, power utilities will buy 2,000 MW every year till 2016. The annual expenditure on this count is pegged at Rs 6,000 crore, an Energy Department statement said.
Besides buying power from other States, the Government asked the APGENCO (generation utility) to increase generation during the period, according to Mr Dinesh Kumar, Principal Secretary (Energy, Government of Andhra Pradesh.
He has convened a review meeting on revenue neutral scheme (Expensive Power Purchase Charge or EPCC) on Monday. “Considering the unusual growth in demand and other constraints, power utilities may have to impose restrictions and controls to its consumers from January to May 2012,” the statement quoting him said here on Sunday.
To provide relief to the industrial sector to some extent, AP power utilities have designed the EPPC scheme to ensure reliable and quality power and to avoid production losses, the statement said.
DISCOMs have proposed a plan to allow industrial consumers purchase expensive power from the market. DISCOMs will facilitate this.
Mr Ajay Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of APTransco, has asked chiefs of all DISCOMS in the State to conduct meetings with industrialists in their respective areas soliciting their consent to join the scheme.
Public hearing
The proposed Restriction & Control (R&C) measures by DISCOMs (distribution companies) will be discussed during the public hearing to be held on January 11 by the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) here.