33 GW Pumped Hydro Storage Projects to be Set Up in Andhra Pradesh

Guidelines for pumped storage hydro projects

The Andhra Pradesh energy department will install Pumped Hydro Storage Power Projects (PSP), with 33.24 GW total capacity, across 1.45 lakh acres in Kadapa, Kurnool and Anantapur districts.

Energy secretary Srikant Nagulapalli believes these pumped hydro storage power will improve the power supply position in the state.

“These will enable the consumers to get quality power. It will also help promote industrialisation. Andhra Pradesh has also initiated go electric campaign to promote electric vehicles in the state. The non-conventional energy development corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP) has already established 109 charging stations. It will set up another 400 chargers across the state and along the national highways at every 25 kilometre distance,” he was quoted as saying.

Srikant added that the state has introduced the concept of cost effective power. “It has become a role model for other states by saving Rs 2,342 crore in 2019-20 and 2020-21. The Union ministry of power has also appreciated the AP power utilities for their sustained efforts to achieve savings and reduce burden on the discoms. The power utilities completed the agriculture feeder upgradation works with Rs 1,700 crore to supply free power during day time to more than 18 lakh agriculture pump sets.”

“The power utilities have taken up special measures to reduce interruptions in power supply and provide quality power to consumers. As a result, the interruptions reduced to 1.77 lakh in 2020-21 from three lakh in 2019-20. Similarly, the average cost of service reduced to Rs 7.18 per unit in 2020-21 against Rs 7.23 in 2019-20,” said Srikant.

In October last year, the Andhra Pradesh government announced its plan to set up seven PSPs, worth nearly 6300 MW, in order to promote new renewable energy power plants in the state. The PSP mode is likely to balance fluctuations in total input power from the existing renewable energy plants depending on solar and wind power stations. PSP projects will act as large-scale energy storage stations.

At the time, S Ramana Reddy, Managing Director of New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation (NREDC), said that PSP stations would be coming up at Gandikota (Kadapa), Chitravati (Ananthapuram), Somasila (Nellore), Owk (Kurnool), Kurukutti, Karrivalasa (Vizianagaram) and Yerravaram (Visakhapatnam).

“PSPs are commercially viable, commonly used and large-scale electricity storage technology,” Reddy had added.