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AP Power Purchase Proposal Creates Furore in Assembly

  • The Andhra Pradesh Government statement on power sector issues and plans to make long-term arrangements for purchase through bidding route resulted in a furore in the State Legislative Assembly with the Opposition faulting the Government for what it described as messing up the power sector.Following a debate in the Assembly on the contentious power sector, the State Minister for IT, Mr Ponnala Lakshmaiah, read out a written statement on behalf of the Chief Minister outlining the status and plans. Opposition members and the TDP Chief, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, said that this reflects how the Government has mismanaged and ruined the power sector.In the statement, the Minister said the State has prepared medium and long- term plans to tackle power sector issues.Discoms have already called for tenders for purchase of 2,000 MW of power from June 2012 up to May 2016 and for bidding for procurement of 2,000 MW of power from 2016 for the next 25 years.Further, it is planned to add 4,260 MW of capacity in the State sector and 1,246 MW in the Central sector by 2016.

  • In addition, the Government plans to augment additional capacity from renewable energy of 5,259 MW of power by 2017 in the wind energy harnessing the potential in the State and 332.5 MW in solar energy. The Government proposes to invest Rs 14,000 crore in strengthening and creating transmission and distribution networks.The Government said that power generation has come down in both hydel generating stations and gas projects, with the supply of gas dwindling. Prolonged dry spell has also meant increased demand for power.The industry and farm sector have expressed serious concern over the power supply which could have long-term impact on them.

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