Centre agrees to supply power to Andhra

Reeling under a power crisis due to the ongoing strike by coal workers in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh Tuesday received some respite with the central government agreeing to provide 1,000 MW.

The Eastern Grid will provide 800 MW from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. while the Haryana government will supply 200 MW round the clock from its Jhajjar power plant.

Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy thanked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for coming to the rescue of the state.

According to a statement from the chief minister’s office, Kiran Kumar Reddy had earlier made a request to the prime minister to help the state as it is facing severe power shortage due to the strike by employees in Singareni Collieries.

The chief minister had warned that if power supply at the present level is not ensured to farmers, there is danger of the standing crops getting damaged.

The chief minister had also requested the central government to allocate an additional 500 MW unallocated from Central Generation Stations (CGS) to the state. The central government has so far allocated 185 MW, said the statement.

Meanwhile, the energy department has also appealed to people to save energy in view of the crisis.

Due to strike since Sep 13, the daily production of coal from Singareni Collieries has come down to 36,700 tonnes per day from 1.5 lakh tonnes per day.

APGENCO’s (Andhra Pradesh Generation Corporation) thermal stations are now generating only 3,000 MW as against 5,093 MW generating capacity due to shortage of coal. Coal stocks are depleting and the present stock will suffice for just three days only.

The total loss of thermal generation to the state on account of severe coal severe deficit is around 56 million units per day. The total gap between power generation and supply is 48 million units per day.

In view of the crisis, the government has already imposed power cuts on all sectors. Farmers, who used to get seven hours free power supply earlier, are now being supplied power for six hours. The power cuts in the cities, towns and villages range from four hours to 10 hours per day.

The government has also declared two day power holiday for industry every week in addition to imposing four-hour power cut every day.

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