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India: Andhra Pradesh to import coal to meet power demand in summer

Anticipating high demand for power in the ensuing summer, the power utilities in the State are exploring ways to stock necessary coal by importing, procure power from central generating stations and gas generators, and generate hydel power to ensure uninterrupted power.

The officials are looking at procuring the fuel to an extent of three lakh metric tonnes (MT) by December, six lakh MT by end of January 2020, and nine lakh MT by end of March as the distribution companies (Discoms) expect a higher grid demand between February and June.

According to a statement from the Energy Department on Sunday, APGENCO officials informed Energy Minister B Srinivasa Reddy, in a teleconference, about the plans of power utilities to meet the demand.

“We are expecting closing stock to be around nine lakh MT by the end of March, 2020. As per instructions of the State government, the APGENCO is preparing to increase power supply to 80 MU per day from the present level of 55 MU per day. Besides, the APGENCO is planning to import two lakh MT of coal per month in a phased manner from February to July 2020,” MD APGENCO B Sreedhar said.

The present monthly average receipts of coal were around 15 lakh MTs against the required 17 lakh MTs to generate 80 Million Units (MU) per day from thermal stations, they said.

On the other hand, necessary arrangements have been made for giving letters of credit (LCs) to procure power from Central generating stations (CGS), the officials said. “An amount of Rs 6,184 crore has already been paid to all CGS stations in the current financial year. In view of this, continuous generation is ensured from Central stations for the ensuing summer season. The thermal IPPs (Independent Power Producers) like HNPCL, Sembcorp and KSK are also being expected to operate at full capacity and highest plant load factor (PLF),” the officials elaborated.

Srinivasa Reddy noted that the State government was very particular on the power supply without any interruptions.
Source: The New Indian Express

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