State Energy Secretary N Srikant said that procuring solar power from Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) would be more affordable to take forward the initiative to provide free agriculture power for nine hours in day time for the next 25 years on a sustainable basis.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Srikant said that procuring power from SECI is far more beneficial than other available options, as the government is currently purchasing power at Rs 4.36 per unit and providing it to 18.37 lakh farmers free of cost. In order to make it more affordable, the government planned to bring in a solar power project of 10,000 MW through AP Green Energy Corporation Limited (GECL) to get power at Rs 2.49 per unit for the next 25 years. However, SECI offered to provide the power at the same cost under its manufacturing-linked initiative from 2024 and the State government gave the nod to meet the demand of 18.37 lakh farmers.

The agreement was done after the approval of Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) and the question of Judicial Preview does not arise as the provider is a Central Government unit, he said.

The tariffs proposed by SECI are the lowest in the country and the transactions would be transparent as it is a Central Public Sector Undertaking. Tamil Nadu is buying from the same SECI at Rs 2.69 per unit since September.

The network charges of Discoms will be borne by the government. Further, Srikant said that a change of law in Power Purchase Agreements (PPA), State transmission charges, and Central transmission charges would affect the State solar project initiative. But by purchasing power through SECI State could save an amount Rs 2, 260 crores, including the cost of power evacuation infrastructure. With the strengthened One Nation-One Grid, any state can purchase power from anywhere, which makes dealing with SECI easier.

Similarly, he explained that the State need not earmark land for a power plant if power is purchased from outside.