Telangana Grappling For Solutions To It’s Power Woes

Telangana is still trying to grapple with the power issues it is in. The Energy secretary SK Joshi’s trip to Chhattisgarh, which was to happen last week, got postponed and may happen today. He may negotiate for an MoU for purchase of 1500 MW of power, higher than the initial plan of purchasing 1000 MW. The Govt notified creation of TS Electricity Regulatory Authority 2 days ago to fasten the MoU process as the common APERC, serving both AP and Telangana, reportedly cited existing procedures that wont allow for a direct inter-state agreement without competitive bidding.

A preliminary report on the feasibility of direct transmission corridor between Chhattisgarh and Telangana is also ordered by the CM. As the North South grid is under heavy demand and bookings have been made in advance, mainly by Tamil Nadu, Telangana has to wait till 2017 for next availability of the grid. The CM asked officials to talk to Power Grid Corporation in this regard.

The state is looking at option of buying power from private players in South India as one of the medium term solutions for solving state’s power woes. The CM also reviewed the progress of the plan for setting up 800 MW plant in Kothagudem.