Andhra Pradesh seeks 500 MW to tide over power shortage

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Hyderabad: Facing severe power shortage, the Andhra Pradesh government has urged the central government to allocate 500 MW from the central pool to tide over the crisis.

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy told reporters on Wednesday that the government has also appealed for supply of power from the Kudankulam Atomic Power Project in Tamil Nadu.

The gap between electricity demand and supply in the state has mounted to 67 million units (MUs) per day, forcing authorities to impose long power cuts.

Amid protests from farmers and opposition parties in some parts of the state over insufficient supply, the chief minister said that the seven-hour power supply would be maintained.

The chief minister attributed the unprecedented crisis to the increasing demand coupled with the fall in generation in hydel, thermal and gas-based power projects. The generation has come down by 48 MUs compared to last year.

Generation in hydel units has come down by 28 MUs due to low water levels following poor monsoon this year.

Mr Reddy said the government was spending Rs 14 crore daily to buy 124 MUs from outside the state.

The crisis has hit the state's industry hard with Andhra Pradesh Transmission Corporation imposing a 15-day power cut for the sector in a month.