HYDERABAD: The State Government has requested the Centre to allocate 800 MW of additional power to overcome the ongoing crisis in the power sector and mitigate the hardship faced by farmers.

It wanted the Centre to consider giving 500 MW of unallocated power from the southern region and another 300 MW from the eastern region to bridge the demand supply gap till May this year and help tide over the power crisis that would increase in the ensuing rabi months.

In separate letters addressed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy said while Andhra Pradesh was getting 180 MW of unallocated power, other southern States like Karnataka (328 MW), Tamil Nadu (334 MW) and Kerala (293 MW) were getting more.

These States were taking advantage of this and selling power to Andhra Pradesh, he said, adding Tamil Nadu and Kerala offered 100 MW to 400 MW to Andhra Pradesh during January.

Plea for campaign

The Chief Minister who reviewed the power situation with senior officials on Sunday instructed them to conduct a campaign to create awareness among the people and farmers about the difficulties faced in securing power and ensure that they adopt conservation methods.

He, however, made it clear that the Government was firm on giving seven-hour supply to the farm sector and was prepared to spend any amount in that direction.

When the officials pointed out that the demand went up steeply owing to availability of water, he said it was natural for farmers who faced drought for several years to take up cultivation.

But the officials should explain them about the power situation and ensure that they take measures to save power. Reiterating the Government's commitment not to pass on the burden to consumers, he asked the officials to take the crisis as a challenge and alert farmers whenever there were technical difficulties in supply.

The farmers of the State, he said, would heed advice if they were convinced, he said citing the enthusiasm displayed by them in installing capacitors.

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