New PS unveils 5-point agenda to boost Power Sector

Hyderabad, August 4 (INN): The state government on Thursday revealed a five point program to further strengthen the power sector and provide satisfactory supply to all categories of consumers with special focus on agriculture and industry, which are crucial to state economy.

Interacting with top officials of Power sector on the occasion of his assuming charge as Principal Secretary (Energy Department) Dinesh Kumar said that the objective of the government is to make all efforts to ensure that the requirements of the agriculture, industry and domestic consumer are met to the extent possible.

He proposed a five point program agenda, which would aim to step up power generation to bridge the gap between demand and supply, to strengthen the transmission and distribution network, to reduce Transmission and Distribution (T and D) losses, to promote conservation of energy in a big way and to introduce more consumer welfare initiatives.

Mr Dinesh Kumar took charge from Mr Suthirtha Bhattacharya, had previously served in various capacities in the power sector. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Dinesh Kumar said that since power sector is the main pillar of economic growth of the state, the government is determined to fully support all developmental activities of the state power utilities.

The policy of the government is to continue its sustained efforts to bridge the gap between the demand and supply to the extent possible, he said adding that it is a privilege for every employee to serve in the premier energy sector and urged that everyone should strive hard to serve more than two Core consumers in an effective and efficient manner.

The officials informed the Principal Secretary during the interaction that the power generation in sixth stage of KTPS-500 MW which was synchronised to the state grid in March last at an estimated cost of Rs 2325 Crore is expected to declare COD (Commercial Operation Date) by end of this month which further improves the voltage profiles of Khammam, Nalgonda, Krishna and Hyderabad districts.

The COD of 6th unit of Jurala Hydro Electric Project was also declared on Thursday, with which the total capacity of Jurala Project has reached 234 MW. The officials also told Mr Dinesh Kumar that APTRANSCO is contemplating to reduce the T and D losses to 17.10 per cent by March, 2012.

Energy Officials also apprised him of the status of the ongoing projects and progress of the various schemes like Rajiv Vidhyutheekarana, HVDS, RAPDRP and segregation of agricultural feeders etc. Besides augmenting additional power generation, strengthening the T and D system and serious steps to contain wastage of precious electricity, the government has appointed a high level committee to promote energy conservation measures in a big way. The government is also committed for providing avenues for consumer welfare and customer satisfaction by strengthening over 300 customer service centres in both rural and urban areas.

Top IAS officials of the power sector, including Ajay Jain, Anantaramu, K Vijayanand, and Mohammed Nadeem, P Ramesh, Umesh Sharaff, and senior officials K Ranganatham, D Prabhakar Rao, Ch Narasimha Reddy, V Krishnamurthy and various other officers of Energy Department congratulated Mr Dinesh Kumar on his taking charge as the new Principal Secretary of Energy Department.