The energy department has given due priority to powering oxygen systems, which have become the lifeline for COVID-19 patients.
Node officers, no less than the rank of senior engineer, were held responsible for each of the 22 oxygen systems (three of which are major units in Visakhapatnam City and Srikakulam District) under the jurisdiction of the three discoms with a demand of 2.49,196 KVA.
“This will ensure a continuous power supply,” said Energy Minister N. Srikant in a review meeting on Friday.
Mr. Srikant took stock of the power supply to hospitals and oxygen systems, as well as the domestic sector, and paid tribute to employees for being on the front lines in the war against COVID-19, providing efficient services around the clock.
He said senior officials visited the districts to personally monitor power supplies and pointed out that more than 1,400 officials and staff had contracted the virus.
Node officers have been appointed to cater to the needs of staff infected with the virus.
Mr Srikant said the Indian government has taken steps to ensure 24/7 power to 73 oxygen plants in the country. With this in mind, AP Discosms turned their attention to supplying power to oxygen facilities in the state.
The CMDs from Discoms, S. Naga Lakshmi, H. Haranatha Rao and J. Padma Janardhan Reddy, explained the steps for an uninterrupted power supply to all sectors, especially hospitals and oxygen systems.
“In the event of outages, alternative arrangements have been made for hospital power and oxygen facilities,” they said.
The joint managing directors of AP-Transco, K. Sridhar Reddy and K. Venkateswarlu, as well as the directors K. Praveen Kumar and Muthupandian took part in the deliberations.