Andhra Pradesh is a power surplus State: Energy Secretary

Hyderabad, May 6 (INN): Energy Secretary Ajay Jain has claimed that Andhra Pradesh is now a power surplus State.

Addressing the conference on A3: Availability, Accessibility and Affordability of Power in India organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here on Wednesday, Ajay Jain said that the State Government has ensured no power cuts since November and the state has moved from a deficit to a surplus situation. "We are now at par with States like Gujarat and Chhattisgarh as far as availability is concerned. We have also built in a spinning reserve of 5 per cent," he said while informing that Andhra Pradesh is one of the three States chosen to be part of the 'Power for All' programme.

Discussing the State's plan to achieve accessibility and affordability of power, he said, 'Currently in Andhra Pradesh, there are 5 lakh households without power and some industrial (600 MW) and agricultural connections (60,000) are pending. Our target is to ensure that by March 2016, all households are electrified and industrial and agricultural (linked to ground water) connections are completed. The energy department is also prioritizing the goal of providing cost effective and affordable power to the consumers. We are adopting several measures including improvement in efficiency, reduction in losses and improvements in PLF efficiency. We will also try not to increase tariffs and are even exploring the possibility of reducing tariff for certain consumer categories.'

Elaborating on the state's plans for putting in place an optimal fuel mix he further added, 'We cannot depend on any one fuel and are moving towards achieving a balanced fuel mix with a strong focus on renewable energy. But coal-based plants will also continue to be a part of our fuel mix. In fact, NTPC and APGENCO are planning to set up super critical power plants of 4000 MW each.

Emphasizing on the focus on renewables in Andhra Pradesh, Jain said, 'The state has also released its solar and wind policies and is targeting 5000 MW of solar and 4000 MW of wind power by 2018-19. PPAs have been signed for aggregate 619 MW across 19 solar projects and the lowest first year tariff of Rs 5.25 / unit was discovered. Single window clearance mechanism has been set up to ensure rapid commissioning of solar projects. We are also encouraging manufacturing. Suzlon has recently signed an agreement and several solar manufacturing companies have expressed interest in setting up base in Andhra Pradesh.'

Talking about the initiatives the state is taking on the demand side, he said, 'Andhra Pradesh is a pioneer in energy efficiency. We have replaced over 41 lakh incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs in three districts in the state recording a saving of 22 per cent in Vishakhapatnam, Vijayanagaram and Sullurpeta leading to a saving of 44 per cent. Finally we are also in the process of replacing inefficient pump-sets with efficient pumps and are undertaking feeder segregation for this.'

'The role of the power sector is important to ensure double digit economic growth,' said Ajay Jain.

With an installed capacity of about 260 GW, India is currently the world's fifth largest energy producer. It is also the fourth largest energy consumer, accounting for about 4 per cent of the world's total annual energy consumption. However, the national energy demand, driven by rapid urbanisation and a steady economic growth of 7 - 8 per cent per annum over the last few years, continues to outstrip supply, he said.

Statistics show that energy shortages and peak shortages were about 8.6 per cent and 9 per cent respectively, and the per capita consumption of electricity in India is amongst the lowest at 917 units vis-a-vis about 2700 units in developed economies.

Highlighting India's achievement in the green building segment, Raghupathy, Executive Director, CII ' Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre, said, 'With 3000 projects under implementation accounting for over 2.78 million square feet of green buildings in the country, India is the second in the green building movement globally.'

Further, suggesting some measures to achieve availability of affordable power for all he said, 'While the Government is putting in place strong policy measures to build up generation capacity, including having the best solar policy in the country, there is also a need to manage power demand by introducing time-of-day tariffs to account for peak loads, adopting energy efficiency measures like municipal lighting through the ESCO route, and ensuring that large urban buildings are designed to save critical resources like power and water.'

Discussing the crucial need for synergy between Central and State Government action in this sector, Ashok Reddy, former Chairman, CII Andhra Pradesh State Council and President, Cyient Ltd said, 'The new Government has committed to providing round-the-clock electricity to each citizen by 2019. State governments are now aligning their goals with the Union Government's vision and are evaluating optimal mixes of fuels - conventional, alternative and renewable, to meet this target in a sustainable manner.'