Hyderabad: Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said that the govt was ensuring uninterrupted power supply across the state despite a sharp rise in electricity demand and a decline in hydel power generation. He said that the state’s peak power demand, which was around 15,000 MW during the same period earlier, has now increased to nearly 20,000 MW.He said that due to drought-like conditions caused by the El Niño effect, water availability in rivers and reservoirs has declined, resulting in a reduction of around 4,000 MW in hydel power generation. Despite the resulting additional burden of nearly 8,000 MW, the Transco, SPDCL and NPDCL have been functioning efficiently and ensuring uninterrupted power supply, he said.Bhatti Vikramarka, along with irrigation minister Uttam Kumar Reddy, inspected the Pulichintala Hydel Power Generation Centre on Tuesday. During the visit, he enquired with officials about the power generation capacity and the generation achieved so far. He also inspected the unit control room.Speaking to the media later, Vikramarka said that all hydel power projects across the state are fully equipped and ready to generate electricity to their maximum capacity. The machinery and generating units at the projects are in a condition to operate at full capacity, he said. However, hydel power generation has declined due to inadequate water availability, with drought-like conditions and rising temperatures being the major reasons, he added.He made it clear that the govt is committed to its decision to provide 24-hour power supply to domestic consumers despite the significant rise in electricity demand. He said that the increased power demand, particularly during night-time hours, is being met through thermal power generation.The deputy CM assured people that there was no need to worry about power supply. While Karnataka, which is larger than Telangana, has a peak power demand of around 20,000 MW, Telangana’s demand has also reached a similar level, he said. AP’s peak demand is around 12,000 MW, he added. Despite the significant increase in electricity consumption in the state, uninterrupted power supply is being provided to consumers, Bhatti said.Need for judicious use of waterVikramarka said that experts and scientists have warned that water scarcity could arise if the state does not receive the expected rainfall in the coming days. He appealed to people to use the available water carefully until the next monsoon, keeping in mind the drinking water requirements of humans, livestock and birds.The deputy CM said that drinking water cannot simply be stored indefinitely for future use and urged everyone to conserve water and use it judiciously.ends/
