Breaking News:Power woes not yet over for Andhra state
TNN, Aug 7, 2010,
HYDERABAD: Officials of the power department have alerted the state government that the state has just about enough power to last another two months and that it needs to buy power immediately or face power cuts from October onwards. Learning from the experience of the peak summer months, when there was no grid left for the state to buy, officials said they have proactively informed the government to avoid a similar situation.

The deficit the state is facing is that of 460 megawatts, caused due to two of its largest thermal power stations being non-operational. The Kothagudem thermal power station produces 250 megawatt power and the Vijayawada thermal power station produces 210 megawatt power.

While the Kothagudem thermal power plant is non-operational due to technical reasons, the plant at the Vijayawada thermal power station is yet to be re-installed after it was repaired. Officials in the power department said the plant at Vijayawada had been physically sent to the repair station at Haridwar last year after it developed technical snags and is still awaited. Adding to the power department's woes is the functional non-stability of the Kakatiya thermal power station in the state. Though the plant was installed last year, its stabilisation has been a problem ever since. This plant can generate up to 500 megawatt power.

"We will have to resort to power cuts to cover up for the deficit. Currently, we are looking at a surplus power generation, thanks to the good monsoons this year and the subsequent rise in water levels across all sources of hydel power generation. But this is good enough to last for just another two months," said a senior power official of AP Transco.

In the case of insufficient power generation, discom officials fear they will have to resort to power cuts across all sectors in the state.

Discom officials cited their helplessness in maintaining a continuous power supply to all sectors if the required quantum of power is not made available to them for supply. "The only practical solution is to invest in the timely repair of the existing thermal power stations or else the government must be ready to incur huge expenditure in buying power from private players at a higher rate later," said a senior discom official.