Hans News Service Visakhapatnam

EnergyMinister Gottipati Ravi Kumar directed officials of the Eastern Power Distribution Company of Andhra Pradesh Limited (APEPDCL) to draw up and execute a special action plan to ensure uninterrupted and reliable power supply during Godavari Pushkaralu-2027.

Chairing a comprehensive review meeting at the APEPDCL corporate office on Thursday, the minister assessed the progress of various power sector development programmes with APEPDCL directors, chief general managers, head office officials and superintending engineers of all operation circles via video conference. He directed officials to accord top priority to Pushkaralu-related infrastructure and complete the work by March 2027.

Stressing the state government’s focus on renewable energy, Gottipati Ravi Kumar called for accelerating the PM Surya Ghar programme and launching extensive awareness campaigns to encourage more domestic consumers to install rooftop solar units.

Special initiatives should also be undertaken to ensure that eligible Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe beneficiaries receive the benefits of solar schemes, he underlined.

Referring to agricultural power supply, the minister said around 12,000 agricultural electricity connections were sanctioned during the previous year.

He directed officials to expedite pending connections and ensure that eligible farmers receive electricity services without unnecessary delay. Taking note of recent power disruptions caused by severe winds, Gottipati Ravi Kumar instructed APEPDCL to further strengthen its consumer communication mechanismso that people receive timely SMS updates indicating the expected restoration time whenever outages occur.

Appreciating APEPDCL’s performance in controlling distribution losses, the Energy Minister said the utility had emerged as a model in the country. He called for preparing a comprehensive report documenting the company’s best practices so that successful initiatives could be replicated across other power distribution companies.

Gottipati Ravi Kumar said the Center of Excellence for Energy Transition (CoEET), established with the objective of positioning Andhra Pradesh as a model state in clean energy and power sector innovation, and was already advancing several innovative programmes. He said CoEET was playing a significant role in developing technologies suited to the future requirements of the power sector by promoting innovation, research and startups. APEPDCL Chairman and Managing Director Prudhvi Tej Immadi said the company had completed all power-related arrangements for the Prime Minister’s visit. He said consumers were being continuously updated through social media regarding expected restoration times during power interruptions.

Responding to the growing electricity demand, the APEPDCL CMD said 30 new substations were taken up during the previous financial year. With a target of commissioning 50 substations during the current financial year, 12 substations had already been charged, he said. He further said that 19 new 33/11 kV substations would be made ready ahead of Godavari Pushkaralu-2027, while power infrastructure development works worth Rs.830 crore were underway to strengthen the distribution network and meet future demand. Tanuku MLA Arimilli Radhakrishna, APEPDCL directors TV Suryaprakash, T. Vanaja and S Haribabu, Chief Vigilance Officer K Ramakrishna Prasad, senior officialsand others participated in the review meeting.