The Hindu : Power crisis due to `excessive' drawal by other States: Minister

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 01, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

Power crisis due to `excessive' drawal by other States: Minister

By Our Staff Reporter

ELURU SEPT. 30. The Minister for Power, Mr. K. Subbarayudu, attributed the current crisis in the power sector in the State to the `excessive' drawal of power by the member States of the Southern grid such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.

Addressing a gathering after taking part in a host of developmental works proposed to be taken up in the Eluru Assembly segment here, Mr Subbarayudu reasoned that the drawal of power by the neighouring States in excess of their respective quotas was leading to an imbalance in grid frequency.

This phenomenon had been frustrating the efforts of the State Government to ensure regular power supply for agriculture and other sectors despite many constraints like non-availability of quota from the Central power sector and the continued dry spell which had cast a shadow over generation of hydel power, he said. Maintenance of time duration in power supply had become a difficult task for the State Government in view of the increasing bouts of grid collapse, he explained.

Mr Subbarayudu asserted that the State Government had been ensuring supply of 138 mu every day in spite of the grim situation in the power sector. The demand for power consumption had been in the range of 146-150 mu this month even as it was not more than 120 mu during the corresponding period in previous years. He said the energy sector had been struggling to meet the shortage of 25 mu units daily. Hopeful of improving the situation in a few days, the Minister averred that the State government was committed to save the standing crops by ensuring an uninterrupted nine-hour supply for agriculture.

Utilising the opportunity to heap praises on the Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, Mr Subbarayudu said the generation capacity had gone up to 10,000 MW from 6,000 MW during the period of Mr Naidu as the Chief Minister. The increase of power generation by 4000 MW in a period of seven years was a record in the entire country, he added.

The Roads and Buildings Minister, T. Nageswara Rao, who inaugurated a bridge built at a cost of Rs 50 lakhs near the Vasanta Mahal here to link One town and Two town, sought to defend the Chief Minister by heavily coming down on the Congress Legislature Party leader, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, for undertaking a whirlwind tour across the State in a bid to `expose the hollow promises' of Mr Naidu.

Dubbing the Leader of the Opposition as a `traitor' for having desperately tried to stall Telugu Ganga, Nageswara Rao charged that the Congress was trying to gain political mileage out of acute drought conditions in the State.

The Minister for Commercial Taxes, K Vijayarama Rao, spoke. The local MLA, Ambika Krishna, presided over the function.

* * *

A Dark reminder

The precarious power situation on Monday marred an official function, attended by three Ministers, including the Power Minister, K. Subbarayudu.

The Ministers, Vijayarama Rao, T. Nageswara Rao and Subbarayudu, arrived here to attend functions related to the developmental works undertaken in and around the district headquarters town.

Power went off immediately after Mr Subbarayudu's speech in which he spoke at length about the steps taken by the State Government for improving the power situation. Then it was the turn of the Roads & Buildings Minister, Mr T Nageswara Rao, to deliver a major part of his address without power. After this, the Commercial Taxes Minister, Mr K Vijayarama Rao, virtually became a casualty of frequent power cuts. The Minister had to use a hand mike run on a battery. To his chagrin, power went off thrice by the time he finished his speech.

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