No tariff hike, focus on 24x7 power supply & green energy, says energy minister Gottipati Ravi

Vijayawada: Energy minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar on Wednesday said the coalition govt has introduced major reforms in the power sector by ensuring tariff stability, strengthening infrastructure, expanding renewable energy, and protecting consumer interests.Addressing the media, the minister said the priority is to provide uninterrupted power supply to consumers and reliable electricity to farmers. He said nine hours of free daytime power is being supplied to agriculture and around 1.5 lakh agricultural connections have been provided across the three discoms.“The govt is committed to providing 24x7 quality power without burdening consumers,” he said, adding that there has been no tariff hike in the past two years.The state is also bearing ₹15,790 crore towards subsidies for agriculture, aqua, SC, ST and other sectors. Ravi Kumar said Andhra Pradesh became the first state to implement a 13% true-down, reducing consumer burden. Power purchase cost has been brought down from ₹5.42 to ₹4.90 per unit, saving 52 paise per unit.He added that billing efficiency improved from 94.99% to 99.26%, while transmission and distribution losses declined from 12.05% to 9.99%.

The govt is investing ₹6,000 crore to strengthen substations and transmission networks. New substations have been commissioned at Tallayapalem, Eluru and Undi, while over 200 substations are being developed to address low voltage issues. Underground cabling works worth ₹1,200 crore are also underway, especially to prevent disruptions along the state’s 900-km coastline.The minister said the state is targeting 160 GW capacity and has already cleared 98 GW of projects, attracting investments of over ₹6 lakh crore in the green energy sector in two years.Under the Integrated Clean Energy Policy-2024, incentives are being provided for solar, wind, pumped storage, battery storage, green hydrogen, green ammonia and EV charging infrastructure. The sector is expected to draw ₹10 lakh crore investment and create 7.5 lakh jobs.He said daily power consumption has risen from 238 million units to 275 million units, with peak demand crossing 15,000 MW. Despite this, AP Genco achieved a record generation of 6,160 MW.Under central schemes such as PM Surya Ghar and PM Kusum, solar expansion is underway, with 1.51 lakh households already covered out of the targeted six lakh rooftop connections.