The government on Monday accorded administrative sanction through G.O. 21 for the establishment of two additional units of 115 MW capacity each at the lower Sileru power house at Mothugudem in Chintur mandal of East Godavari district at an estimated cost of ₹510 crore.
The AP-Genco MD has been mandated to take action for setting up the plants which will be taking the total units at lower Sileru to six of 115 MW capacity each. The four existing units were commissioned in 1976-78.
A senior officer in the AP Power Coordination Committee told The Hindu that additional generation was needed as the need has been growing at the rate of 6% to 8 % and the lower Sileru power house has the potential for more units.
Cost effective
Since the new units entailed no major infrastructure creation, the average cost of construction is lesser than compared to greenfield projects.
The fall in demand due to the COVID-19 lockdown is a temporary phenomenon. Once the crisis blows over, the demand will be on a steady upward curve, he observed. The new units at lower Sileru, an office -bearer of APSEB Engineers' Association, said have been long pending.
