Power utilities seek Rs.7,000 cr in budget

• Huge amounts needed to set up thermal projects
• Rs. 500 cr to be utilised for solar power projects

Hyderabad: The Telangana state Energy department has sought an allocation of Rs 7000 crore in the budget as against Rs 4800 crore last year.

The proposals submitted recently to the state Finance department explained that since the government was more interested to set up thermal power plants, it required around Rs 4000 crore to take up the new projects this year and Rs 3000 crore for free power supply. On the instructions of the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, the TSGENCO expedited the process to set up 7600 MW thermal power plant in Nalgonda district and two more coal- based plants at Kothagudem with 800 MW installed capacity at the cost of Rs 3,800 crore and 1080 MW capacity project at the cost of Rs 4200 crore at Manuguru in Khammam district.

With the support of BHEL and NTPC, the government was taking up the projects. It is estimated that Rs 4000 crore would be required, as government share, for the new projects this year. If allocated, this would be the highest ever allocation for the setting up of power projects. Such huge amount was not allocated even in the united Andhra Pradesh. The highest allocation was around Rs 5000 crore during last decade.

This time the power utilities want to utilise Rs 500 crore for solar power projects.