The Andhra Pradesh government today said it planned to generate an additional 2,560 MW of power by the financial year 2022 to meet the anticipated load growth, though it has a surplus as of now.
Addressing reporters after a high-level sector review meeting here, Energy Minister Kimidi Kala Venkata Rao said the state's installed power generation capacity was 17,520 MW at the end of the financial year 2017-18.
"We have increased the generation capacity by 84 per cent from 9,529 MW in the FY 2014-15. We had a power deficit of 22 million units when the state was bifurcated (in June 2014) but now we are power surplus," Rao pointed out.
"The main reason for this power surplus state is capacity building on the generation side, the most recent addition being the 600 MW stage-4 of Rayalaseema Thermal Power Project, which started commercial production on March 28," he elaborated.
The new plants coming up over the next four years include the 800 MW stage-5 of Narla Tata Rao Thermal Power Station, 800 MW stage-2 of Sri Damodaram Sanjeevaiah Thermal Power Station and Polavaram Hydro Electric Project (12x80 MW).
All this would cost Rs 15,000 crore.
"Our focus has been on clean energy and we have accordingly added huge capacity in wind and solar power generation. Solar power generation touched 2147 MW and wind 3952 MW since the FY 2014-15."
"We have also installed 47 MW of rooftop solar energy," the minister said.
For the first time in the country, Rao said, power storage facility was being created in Andhra Pradesh to store 40 MW of wind and 120 MW of solar using a hybrid model.
A pilot project has been launched in Makkuva, a tribal mandal of Vizianagaram district, while another would soon be opened in SPS Nellore district.
"We will store power in the nights and use it when required during emergencies," he added.
Transmission Corporation of AP Limited CMD K Vijayanand and other top officials of the energy department attended the meeting.
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