AMARAVATI, Sept. 11, 2026: Andhra Pradesh is pursuing an aggressive expansion of renewable energy while cutting electricity procurement costs through market reforms, Energy Department Special Chief Secretary K. Vijayanand told the eighth district collectors’ conference chaired by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu at the Secretariat on Friday.
Presenting the state’s power-sector performance and future plans on the second day of the conference, Vijayanand said Andhra Pradesh currently has 21,852 MW of contracted power capacity and recorded electricity consumption of 79,971 million units during 2025–26. Renewable energy accounted for 39.9 percent of the state’s power mix, while the average electricity procurement cost stood at ₹4.90 per unit.
The government expects electricity demand to reach nearly 180,000 million units by 2035. To meet the projected demand, it has set targets of 78.5 GW of solar power, 35 GW of wind power, 22 GW of pumped-storage capacity and 25 GWh of battery storage. The renewable-energy expansion is expected to attract nearly ₹10 lakh crore in investments and create about 7.5 lakh jobs, Vijayanand said.
Power procurement costs have fallen substantially following reforms in the way electricity is purchased. Average monthly expenditure on short-term power procurement declined from ₹641.5 crore during 2022–24 to ₹194 crore during 2024–26, while the average procurement price fell from ₹7.78 to ₹5.15 per unit.
Greater use of market-based mechanisms, including the day-ahead and real-time electricity markets, along with improved power-dispatch management, has helped reduce procurement costs. From April through July of 2026–27, the average procurement cost fell from ₹5.20 to ₹4.97 per unit, resulting in a saving of 23 paise per unit, he said.
Vijayanand said the government had not increased electricity tariffs, avoiding an additional burden on consumers. Free electricity continues for 20.78 lakh agricultural consumers, while 22 lakh families belonging to SC, ST and other weaker sections receive up to 200 units of free electricity a month. The aquaculture sector is also receiving subsidised power, involving a government subsidy of ₹1,067 crore.
Despite El Niño conditions, the state maintained reliable electricity supply, Vijayanand said. The system handled a peak demand of 15,016 MW without disruption, while daily peak electricity supply reached 288.90 million units. Transmission losses were contained at 2.60 percent, he said.
Under the PM-KUSUM programme, the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has approved 2,93,587 agricultural solar pumps for the state. Land acquisition has been completed for 228 plants, while civil works have begun at 196 plants.
Under the PM Surya Ghar programme, solar systems with a combined capacity of 664.09 MW have been installed for SC and ST consumers, covering 3,32,043 electricity systems. The state has also set a target of around 201 MW of solar capacity on government buildings and prepared a plan to install 46.72 MW of rooftop solar systems across 2,932 government buildings in 28 districts.
To prepare the transmission network for the growing renewable-energy capacity, the government has proposed a ₹21,838-crore Green Energy Corridor Phase III project to transmit 18.4 GW of renewable power. The project includes 7,872 km of transmission lines, 9,500 MVA of capacity and five new 400/220-kV substations.
The state is also expanding battery storage capacity. A 225 MW/450 MWh battery storage system is targeted for commissioning in January 2027, followed by a 150 MW/300 MWh system in August 2027. As part of its electric-vehicle infrastructure programme, approvals have been issued for 577 EV charging stations at 131 locations.
Andhra Pradesh is deploying artificial intelligence and other digital technologies in the power sector, including AI-based asset health indices and digital-twin technology. Digital twins have been implemented at 380 substations under the state transmission utility, helping save an estimated 123 million units of electricity annually and generate approximately ₹6 crore in additional revenue, Vijayanand said.
He called on district collectors to play a key role in facilitating renewable-energy projects, rooftop solar installations, PM-KUSUM projects, solarisation of government buildings and transmission infrastructure. Collectors were directed to coordinate with power distribution companies, the state renewable-energy development agency and the transmission utility to resolve land acquisition and right-of-way issues, create public awareness and closely monitor project implementation.
