Nellore: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday dedicated to the nation the third unit of the Sri Damodaram Sanjeevaiah Thermal Power Station (SDSTP) which would supply 19 million units of power to the AP Grid daily, at Nelaturu near here.
Addressing a huge public meeting on the occasion, he described it as a step forward in power generation in the state and he was blessed to dedicate to the nation the 800 MW unit for which the foundation stone was laid by his father-late Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy in 2008
He thanked the farmers for sacrificing their lands for the thermal power station and the Krishna Patnam port, and handed over the compensation amount to the tune of Rs. 35.74 crore to 16,128 farmer-families by pressing the button and facilitating direct transfer of funds to their bank accounts.
Referring to the long wait of farmers who sacrificed their lands, the Chief Minister said that the TDP regime subjected them to difficulties
even while paying Rs.14,000 each to 3500 farmers.
He said that 326 families were already provided employment and orders were issued to provide jobs to another 150 families in the second phase before November end. The 800 MW unit, an extension of the existing two units, was built with Super Critical Technology (SCT) by the APGENCO, the first of its kind in the country and would help in less consumption of coal besides contributing to the lessening of pollution.
Jagan noted that the dedicated unit, for which Rs. 3200 crore was allocated after YSRCP came to power, would cater to the increasing demands of energy in housing, commercial and industrial sectors besides supplying power to the agricultural sector to meet the 9-hour free supply of power daily.
While 45 per cent of the energy demand in the state is being met by APGENCO-generated power, the third unit will supply 19 million units of power to the AP Grid daily.