Government to focus on energy for growth

HYDERABAD: The state government is planning to achieve an additional  power generation of around 4,500 MW in the next five years through APGenco to meet the growing energy demands.It is also contemplating procuring 70 million tonnes of coal from Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) from the present supply of  50 million tonnes to run thermal power plants in the state to their full capacity. As development of agricultural and industrial sectors is the key to economic growth of the state, it is focusing on supply of adequate power to both the sectors by ensuring completion of the proposed power projects at the earliest. At an interactive session on ‘Current Scenario in Energy Sector— The Way Forward’ organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry here on Saturday, principal energy secretary Dinesh Kumar said the installed capacity of power plants in the state was 15,768 MW. Due to the fast changing lifestyles and growing economy, the peak demand of 11,552 MW was met in September. There was a 16.89 per cent increase in peak demand for power this year when compared to  the corresponding month last year. During the current kharif season, the peak energy demand reached an all time high of 286.7 million units on Saturday. The T&D losses in the state came down to 17.05 per cent, which is the lowest in the country.  In spite of several constraints, the power sector is achieving growth. It is also rated the best performing sector. According to an estimate, the gap between demand and supply of power in the next three years will increase and the power deficit will be 3,245 MW. Almost all the states in the country are finding it increasingly difficult to bridge the widening gap between demand and supply of power, he said.Dinesh Kumar underlined the need for laying more emphasis on power generation as Andhra Pradesh is one among the top five destinations for industrial investment. AP, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are mentioned as the top five developing states in the country in the report of ‘India Manufacturing Destinations— Performances, Opportunities’. Hence, the state government is making all-out efforts to provide reliable and quality power to all the priority sectors to achieve rapid growth, he said.