Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday directed the officials of the Energy Department to explore the feasibility of transporting coal through the sea route to make up for disruptions caused in moving the ‘black gold’ to power plants by trains.
The cost of transportation of coal by ocean freight carriers would be economical, he said and suggested that steps be taken for establishing a 6,300 MW reverse pumping hydroelectric power project and focus laid on the construction of a similar 1,350 MW project at Sileru.
At a high-level review meeting on the prevailing power crisis, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy ordered that the utilities should coordinate with Coal India Limited and Singareni Collieries Company Limited for procuring coal required by the AP-Genco’s thermal plants, and concentrate on long-term power generation strategies.
Officials told the Chief Minister that there were no interruptions in the power supply and the situation was being closely watched to deal with any contingency.
They said an additional two rakes of coal per day were being procured from Mahanadi Coalfields and the AP-Genco increased generation from 50 Million Units (MU) to 69 MU. Besides, 170 MW was being purchased from the Power Trading Corporation.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy further instructed the officials to expedite the pending projects so that adequate power availability could be ensured.
Energy Secretary N. Srikant, AP-Genco MD B. Sreedhar and other officials were present.
