HYDERABAD: Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has asked the APTransco to immediately restore seven hours of power supply to farmers and also remove power supply restrictions during peak hours to the industrial sector as the power position has improved.He said first priority should be to restore 7-hour power supply to the farm sector. The chief minister also wanted the energy sector to chalk out a comprehensive action plan to make the state power surplus by 2014. He said the energy department will have to tighten all loose ends and the state government will take up with the Centre issues like gas allocation and coal linkage for power projects and other clearances.Officials explained to the chief minister that power supply position was satisfactory up to September 13 with no scheduled cuts to any sector. But from then on, power supply position has worsened due to steep fall in thermal generation from APGenco and NTPC due to strike by Singareni workers. Inflows into Srisailam which were 1.5 lakh cusecs on September 13 had stopped from September 29. There has been a steep increase in the demand due to continuous dry spell in the state.The chief minister was informed that the average demand during October was 268 MU as against 219 MU per day during the same period last year registering an increase of 22.5 percent. The average demand during September was 253 MU per day as against 209 MU during the same period last year. Due to this, AP Discoms have been forced to impose power cuts to all sectors.The average load relief during September was 21.5 MU per day and during October was 38 MU per day.Officials explained that during the strike period, Discoms had purchased 1,250 MU at a cost of Rs 405 crore to meet the increasing power requirement.Generation from Srisailam and Sileru was stepped up to protect the standing crops of the farmers.Additional 72 TMC of water has been used at Srisailam for hydel generation (400 MU) from Sept 13 to Oct18 and 11 TMC of water was used at Sileru.Officials told the chief minister that six-hour supply to agriculture was being ensured.Discoms have been directed to give additional one-hour supply in areas where agricultural crops are under stress. It shall now be restored to seven hours.
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