MAY 20239Aimed at bringing in a revolution of electric vehicles, the New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP) is facilitating the putting up of 250 charging points this year, and another 100 next year. As part of this initiative, Energy Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy has inaugurated a charging station near Durga temple in the city and launched the Renewable Energy Resources Centre (RERC), established by NREDCAP and AP State Council of Science & Technology (APCOST). Appealing to the people of the state, the energy minister advised them to go electric by adopting electric vehicles for economic benefits as well as environmental protection. "Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has called for the promotion of electric vehicles. Based on that decision, there are 100 electric buses in Tirupati and we plan to raise them to 1,000 across the state", said Ramachandra Reddy.Further, he said Vijayawada would be made into a model city for charging infrastructure by setting up 105 charging stations and that the success of converting three-wheelers into EVs in Tirupati would be replicated across the state.The state's charging infrastructure plans align with the national goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2070. Meanwhile, AP is formulating policies to encourage government employees to adopt EVs by distributing 1 lakh such vehicles on an EMI basis and offering road tax and registration fee exemptions. With sweltering heat gripping Tamil Nadu, the state's peak power demand crossed 19,000 Megawatt, the highest in recorded history. Tamil Nadu Energy Minister V. Senthil Balaji tweeted that for the first time in the state's history, the maximum power consumption was A41.82 crore on April 19th. In Megawatt terms, the power demand touched 19,087 MW. This is the first time that the power demand crossed 19,000 MW since records have been maintained for this data. The minister said the demand was met without any power outage and termed this as an achievement by the state government.The state's power demand has been hitting new highs this summer due to rising temperatures. The previous high daily consumption was 41.30 crore units or demand of 18,882 MW on April 18th. The minister said that the government has met the power demand without any interruption. The previous high was 40 crore units on April 10th, 2023. According to Rajesh Lakhani, chairman and managing director of Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco), the increase in power demand this year is the highest in the past 10 years.The policy note of the Energy department for 2023-24 said that Tamil Nadu has the highest consumption of energy among the South Indian states. As Tamil Nadu is both industrialised and highly urbanised, it has fourth highest peak energy demand in the country. The energy policy note also said that the summer peak demand in the state was expected to rise to the range of 18,300 MW and 18,500 MW. It also predicted a daily energy consumption of 390-395 million units in the period between April and May 2023. In 2022, the daily peak demand was 17, 563 MW and the maximum daily consumption was 388.078 million units on April 29th, 2022. The temperature in many parts of state has touched 40 degree Celsius and the IMD has predicted summer showers between April 21st -22nd. TOP STORIES ANDHRA DEVELOPING 250 CHARGING STATIONS TO PROMOTE EVsENERGY DEMAND IN TAMIL NADU CROSSES RECORD 19,000 MW
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