In a bid to increase the share of thermal power generation in the state, the Andhra Pradesh government has proposed to obtain captive coal blocks.
In this regard, chief minister Rajasekhara Reddy has written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking his intervention in form of his advice to the coal ministry to allocate coal mines to the state-owned AP Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC).
?I request you to kindly use your good offices in getting Thadicherla coal block II allotted to APMDC,? Reddy said in his letter. The Thadicheral coal block II is spread over Karimnagar and Warangal districts in Andhra Pradesh, he added.
Reddy also mentioned that the state had attracted a large number of SEZs besides pushing the industrial power demand to new heights.
The power situation can only be improved, if the generation capacity is increased with the APGenco, he opined. ?To meet the existing demand as well as the expected demand for power in the years to come, we are promoting new thermal power units, which require coal allocations,? Reddy explained.