LPS to settle Rs. 17,060-cr dues from DISCOMS in AP

Vijayawada: Dues to the tune of Rs 17,060 crore by the DISCOMs will be settled by the State Government under Late Payment Surcharge (LPS) scheme in 12 installments.

Special Chief Secretary of Energy K Vijayawanad in his I-Day address said under the scheme all power generator dues till 2022 will be liquidated in one year in 12 installments. As per the data, the LPS dues of the DISCOMs amount to a staggering Rs 17,060 crore, this will be settled in 12 monthly installments. The DISCOMs have already paid the first installment of Rs 1,422 crore to generators on August 6.

This will allow DISCOMs to reduce their liability with respect to generators and strengthen APGENCO which ultimately help to strengthen the power utilities to provide reliable power and best services to consumers, he said. He along with APTRANSCO CMD B Sreedhar, JMDs, B Malla Reddy and I Prudhvi Tej, Directors Bhaskar, Murali, Chandrasekhara Raju who participated in the celebrations, further said that the State government has attached high priority for welfare of people in implementing Navaratnalu scheme under which 9-hour day-time free power is being provided to farm sector with highest priority apart from protecting the interests of SC, ST & BC categories of consumers in particular.

The government has also entered into an agreement with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to purchase 7,000 MW of power to strengthen and continue the free power to farmers for the next 30 years. As part of efforts to save public money in power utilities, the APGENCO has saved Rs 118.5 crore in coal purchases and Rs 405.23 crore through the reserve tendering of the Polavaram hydel project. The Andhra Pradesh Power Development Corporation Ltd (APPDCL) has saved Rs 390 crore in reverse tendering and Rs 204 crore in purchasing coal from Singareni Coal Collieries Ltd (SCCL).

Vijayanand said keeping the future energy demand in mind, the State government has taken constructive measures to enhance power generation installation capacity in the State and announced that the Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy along with Energy Minister Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy will be inaugurating the commercial operation of Sri Damodaram Sanjeevaiah Thermal Power Station (SDSTPS) Stage-II (1x800MW) Krishnapatnam Thermal Power Plant in October-2022.

The commercial operation of Dr Narla Tata Rao Thermal Power Station Stage-V (1x800MW) will be completed by February, 2023.