Take steps to make A.P. an energy hub, CM tells officials

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan and other Ministers participating in the second-day session of the Collectors’ conference at the Secretariat in Amaravati on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has suggested that the officials take steps to make Andhra Pradesh an energy hub, and if necessary, develop green corridors.

Addressing the second-day session of the Collectors’ conference at the Secretariat on Thursday, the Chief Minister said that solar, wind, and pumped battery energy was very important. Andhra Pradesh already had thermal, hydro, and gas energy. The need of the hour was green energy and green hydrogen. The government had planned to promote green energy, he said.

Stressing the need to reduce energy and fuel rates, Mr. Naidu said, “To achieve this, electric vehicles should be promoted.” The government was contemplating setting up charging stations under the new policy, which would help control pollution.

Recalling that he lost power in 2004 by implementing energy reforms, Mr. Naidu said that the energy reforms yielded the desired results. “Now we are in a position to generate electricity at the household level,” he said.

Everyone must take energy seriously. Saving one unit of electricity was equivalent to producing two units. Electrical accidents must be prevented, safety was paramount. District Collectors must take appropriate measures to prevent accidents from happening in the future, he said.

Central scheme

Referring to the Surya Ghar scheme, Mr. Naidu said A.P. should reach a stage where every household would generate electricity. Subsidies were also available under the scheme. Any excess electricity could be sold. A model had already been suggested for Kuppam. This approach could be implemented in government buildings and schools with space, he said.

Earlier, Special Chief Secretary (Energy) K. Vijayanand, referring to PM Surya Ghar Yojana, said through the national portal, 6,39,000 registrations had been made under APEPDCL, APSPDCL, and APCPDCL. Of these, 77,090 applications had been submitted, and 6,500 installations completed, with a total load of 24,339 kW.

Under the scheme, the Central government would provide a subsidy of ₹30,000 per kW, ₹60,000 for 2 kW, and ₹78,000 for 3 kW. So far, ₹108.8 million had been released as subsidies under APEPDCL, ₹77.4 million under APSPDCL, and ₹66.4 million under APCPDCL, totalling ₹252.7 million, he said.

Collectors had to create  awareness of this scheme among the public to increase registrations and installations. The State government was considering free installation of household appliances for SC/ST consumers. There were 2,017,947 SC/ST consumers under APEPDCL, APSPDCL, and APCPDCL. Registering them would be a game-changer. Collectors should oversee the rooftop solar installation program for SC/ST consumers, he added.