Government buying coal and power at higher tariffs

Amaravati: When the state government has been claiming the availability of renewable energy at lower prices and striving to renege with PPAs, based on the assumption that it would be available at around Rs 3 per unit or even less, the opposition party started pointing out by revealing the present situation in the state.

TDP blamed that the Energy Department has been purchasing power at very high tariffs to meet the ongoing crisis. The state government is spending more than Rs 11 per unit since it failed to maintain sufficient coal stocks in advance to generate power to meet the demand, TDP has been blaming.

The maximum demand is 6848 MW in the state as of October 9, according to the daily report of the Energy Department, placed on AP Core Dashboard.

TDP MLC Dokka Manikya Varaprasad said that the state government did not buy sufficient coal in advance on the one hand and on the other it has been purchasing power at Rs 11.68 per unit. He questioned how could one understand the intention of the government?

The TDP also blamed that the AP government did not collect the electricity dues around Rs 5,700 cr from the Telangana government, despite completing more than four months in governance.

Since the state government completely neglected the available wind power and depending only on generating thermal power. It forced the state energy sector into further troubles, Manikya Varaparasad added.

Recalling the earlier claims of the state government that there was no demand for power beyond the generating capacity of the established thermal plants in the state, he questioned that, if it was the case then why this crisis emerged. He further observed that the government has been purchasing the premium coal from Singareni Collieries Company Limited at Rs 3710 per ton. In fact, it is available at the same SCCL at Rs 2,650 per ton. On the other hand, the coal is available at Rs 1600 per ton at Mahanadi Coal Mines. The AP is buying around 88,000 Metric Tons of coal from SCCL at the cost of Rs 3,710 per ton. It reveals that the state government has been spending at least Rs 2110 per ton when compared with the available coal at Mahanadi, explained the TDP leader.