Reiterating that the State government is committed to supplying quality, affordable power uninterruptedly to the consumers, Energy Secretary N. Srikant has said that the focus would be on power sector transformation in the 2021-22 financial year.
“The aim is to change the present scenario and make the power sector best in the country,” said Mr. Srikant while addressing a webinar on the priorities of the government in the coming fiscal year on Sunday.
The power utilities would focus on the nine-hour supply to the agriculture sector during the day free of cost.
“A target has been set to supply power to the 18 lakh pump-sets, one of the flagship programmes of the State government,” he said. For the first time in the country, the State government was setting up solar projects with the capacity of 10 GW to ensure free power supply to farmers in the day.
“Bids for the solar power projects have been called for. Necessary infrastructure is being created to ensure grid stability and connectivity. The AP-Transoco is taking measures to promote transmission and distribution infrastructure in the State. The government is putting efforts to bail out the ailing DISCOMs,” said Mr. Srikant.
Power purchase cost
The power utilities have set a target to reduce the annual power purchase cost by ₹700 crore. They have been instructed to procure cost-effective power. There were occasions when they purchased power at around ₹2 per unit from the exchanges, he added.
