Hans News Service Vijayawada

Energydepartment special chief secretary K Vijayanand on Thursday said the state government is fully prepared to meet the state’s growing electricity demand despite the challenges posed by the delayed southwest monsoon and deficient rainfall, while ensuring uninterrupted and quality power supply to consumers.

Chairing a high-level review meeting through video conference with senior officials of APGenco, APTransco and power distribution companies, Vijayanand reviewed the prevailing power situation, hydel generation, thermal power preparedness, reservoir water availability and coal stocks.

He said poor monsoon progress had severely affected hydel power generation, with output dropping from 25-30 million units (MU) per day during the corresponding period last year to just 5-6 MU per day due to inadequate inflows into reservoirs.

Vijayanand said the Sileru Hydel Complex currently has about 34 tmc ft of water storage, which, if managed judiciously, could sustain hydel generation for nearly 90 to 100 days. He directed APGenco officials to prepare a scientific reservoir management plan to ensure optimum utilisation of available water.

Expressing concern over poor inflows into the Krishna basin, he said continued El Niño conditions could further constrain hydel generation this season. He instructed all power utilities to strictly implement the guidelines issued by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) to minimise the impact of deficient rainfall on the power sector.

To bridge the shortfall in hydel generation, Vijayanand directed APGenco to operate all thermal power stations at maximum capacity, except units undergoing scheduled annual maintenance. He instructed officials to complete overhaul works on schedule, improve plant performance, minimise forced outages and strengthen preventive maintenance.

The special chief secretary also directed thermal stations to maintain coal stocks sufficient for at least 10 days of operation and ensure uninterrupted fuel supply through close coordination with the Railways and ports.

Reiterating that reliable and quality power supply remains the state government’s foremost priority, Vijayanand called for close coordination among the energy department, APGenco, APTransco and distribution companies to effectively manage demand and ensure uninterrupted electricity supply across the state despite challenging weather conditions.

Genco in-charge managing director and APCPDCL CMD P Pulla Reddy, Genco directors M Sujaya Kumar, P Ashok Kumar Reddy, V Usha and APPDCL director Srinivasa Rao attended the meeting.