Amaravati, March 5 The Andhra Pradesh government has initiated power infrastructure works worth ₹6,000 crore to meet the rising electricity demand.
Energy Minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar informed the Assembly on Thursday that new substations are being built in areas experiencing high electricity load.
Responding to questions raised by MLAs Aditi Vijayalakshmi Gajapathiraju, Kolla Lalitha Kumari, and Muttumula Ashok Reddy during the Question Hour, the minister stated that the government has identified the need for more than 200 new 33/11 kV substations in regions with heavy power demand and has taken steps to construct them accordingly.
The minister explained that after the coalition government led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu assumed office, the establishment of industries in the state has increased. As a result, daily power consumption is expected to rise from 263 million units to around 280 million units.
Keeping the rising demand in view, the government is taking steps to increase power generation and is constructing 400 kV, 220 kV, and 132 kV substations across the state. He also noted that a large number of agricultural electricity connections have been provided to farmers. Power consumption has increased due to growing commercial, industrial, and domestic requirements.
The minister emphasised that the primary objective of the state government is to ensure that there will be no shortage of electricity anywhere in the state in the coming years. Considering future demand and load growth, the government is continuing the construction of 33/11 kV substations and power lines in all required areas across the state.
He said the construction of the Venugopalapuram substation in Vizianagaram district is currently under the re-tendering process and assured that the works will be completed by March 2027. The minister also informed the House that works related to 220 kV and 132 kV lines worth ₹46 crore in Vizianagaram district have already been completed and are ready to be charged. In addition, works for the Venugopalapuram substation are progressing with an Amount of ₹77 crore.
MLA Aditi Gajapathi Raju requested the government to implement an underground cabling system in Vizianagaram on the lines of Visakhapatnam. Responding to this, the minister said underground cabling is an expensive system and clarified that the proposal would be considered depending on the availability of funds and necessity.
MLA Muttumula Ashok Reddy also requested the establishment of a 220 kV substation in the Giddalur constituency. The minister stated that appropriate steps would be taken based on the feasibility report prepared by the Energy department officials.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor