Hyderabad: State Special Secretary to Energy department Sandeep Kumar Sultania has asked the power utilities to finalize the plans to develop a strong transmission network to meet the increasing energy demand for the next 5 years.

The Secretary reviewed the five-year action plan prepared by TGSPDCL on the increasing demand for power in industrial, domestic and other sectors in the districts under the jurisdiction of South DISCOM.

He said that the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) had estimated that the peak demand in the state of Telangana would reach 16,877 MW in the financial year 2025, but the actual peak demand was recorded at 17,162 MW, which was higher than the estimates.

Similarly, the CEA had estimated that the peak demand in the financial year 2026 would be 18,138 MW, and considering past experiences, there is a possibility of exceeding these estimates.

Given the development of industrial and other sectors in the state, the peak demand in the financial year 2026 is likely to be 190,00 to 19500 MW. Hence, the power utilities should make plans to strengthen the network accordingly.

Officials said that the electricity demand in the areas of Ibrahim Bagh, Gachibowli, Pathan Cheru, Kandukur and Medchal divisions of Greater Hyderabad is increasing significantly by up to 20 per cent. To meet this demand, infrastructure needs to be developed by about 40 per cent. The officials also briefed that the number of electric vehicles in the State will increase rapidly. Accordingly, the State government has set a target of setting up 6,000 electric vehicle public charging stations in the state by 2030. For this, TGREDCO and DISCOMs have already made appropriate arrangements for the establishment of EV charging point stations. TGSPDCL CMD Musharraf Farooqui and TRANSCO JMD Srinivasa Rao and others were

present.