CM dedicates 210 MW thermal power unit

Kadapa, Jan 24 (UNI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy today dedicated to the nation the 210 MW third unit of the Rayalaseema Thermal Power Station at Muddanur.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Reddy said the commissioning of the third unit and another 210 MW fourth unit in coming April or May would ease to some extent the serious power crisis.

He alleged that the crisis was a creation of the previous TDP government.

He said the state government was committed to provide seven hours of power supply to farmers to energise their pumpsets, at any cost, he said the government was finding it difficult due to the alleged neglect of public-sector thermal power plants by the previous Chandrababu Naidu Government.

Accusing the erstwhile TDP regime of lacking foresight, he said it had decided to go in for gas-based power plants without adequate gas linkage from the Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) saddling the state with a burden of of Rs 1,200 crore as fixed costs whenever Independent Power Producers (IPPs) were unable to generate power for want of gas supplies.

It was the Congress government which persuaded the IIPs to forgo the fixed cost charges in the interest of state, he asserted, maintaining that the opposition TDP had no moral right to criticise the government.

The Andhra Pradesh Generation Corporation had programmed to add 6,853 MW power generation capacity at a whooping Rs 2,58,222 crore to meet the evergrowing power supply demand in the state, he added.

UNI