Visakhapatnam: The Union Ministry of Power (MoP) has approved the request of the state government to surrender 125 MW coal power allocated to AP Discoms from NTPC.
The Discoms will save Rs 191.6 crore per annum on fixed costs with this decision. In a letter addressed to Central Electricity Authority (CEA) on October 13, the MoP mentioned it had decided to revert the power keeping in view AP government’s request. The power was allocated to AP Discoms on July 5, 2017 from coal based stations of NTPC for bundling with solar power under National Solar Mission.
Officials of the energy department welcomed the MoP’s decision and felt that it would help the efforts of the state to minimise power procuring costs and reduce unwanted financial burden on Discoms. “The decision of MoP will benefit Discoms which could save Rs 191.6 crore per annum on fixed costs,” energy secretary Srikant Nagulapalli said.
The energy secretary thanked MoP secretary Sanjiv Nandan Sahai for his quick action. The government is exploring ways to reduce power procuring costs. The power utilities have also decided to intensify efforts towards fulfilling the objective of the government which wants to make AP a role model for cheap power. “Apart from providing 24×7 quality power without interruptions, achieving cheap power is also on our agenda,” Srikanth said.
By spot purchase power at an average price of Rs 1.63 to Rs 2.80 per unit for March and April, the power utilities became an example to other states and also successfully reduced the financial burden on discoms. The government also saved around Rs 180 crore in coal purchasing tenders.
