CM: 7-hour power for farm sector must

HYDERABAD: Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has asked the power distributing companies (Discoms) to ensure sevenhour power supply to farmers at any cost and asked officials to look into the complaints being received in this regard.At a review meeting here on Wednesday, he told the Discoms to see that dedicated vehicles equipped with the global positioning system (GPS) should be used for replacement of malfunctioning distribution transformers without delay on receiving complaints.He said the GPS would ensure replacement of the failed transformer at the earliest.He asked the Discom officials to send him a monthly report on the replacement of non-working transformers.These GPSequipped vehicles should become operational throughout the state by September 1.Chief secretary Pankaj Dwivedi, principal secretary (infrastructure & investments) Suthirtha Bhattacharya, APTransco CMD H.Samariya, APGenco MD K Vijayanand, chiefminister’s secretary KS Jawahar Reddy, CPDCL MD G Anantha Ramu, SPDCL MD Vidyasagar Reddy, NPDCL MD Narasimha Reddy, JMD Ranganatham and other officials attended the meeting.AP Transco CMD and other officials explained the Chief Minister that the present power supply position was satisfactory and that seven-hour power supply to the agricultural sector was being ensured, mostly in two spells.Small-scale industries, spinning mills, rice mills, poultry, cold storage, government hospitals, drinking water, traction, seed processing and life- saving drugs have been exempted from power cuts.Major Industries are facing 30 per cent power cut as of now. The average demand during May is 262 MU per day against 227 MU per day during the same period last year _ an increase of 15.41 per cent. Now the power discoms are supplying around 239 MU/day with a shortfall of 29 MU.