APSRTC relies on green energy to cut costs by installing solar plants in Andhra Pradesh

APSRTC relies on green energy to cut costs by installing solar plants in Andhra Pradesh

Commissioner, Andhra Pradesh Public Transport Department (AP PTD) and Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) Ch. Dwaraka Tirumala Rao on January 10 (Wednesday) laid the foundation stone for a 499 Kwp rooftop solar plant on the fourth floor of the NTR administrative block at the Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS) in Vijayawada.

Later speaking to the media, Mr. Rao said in accordance to the green initiative of the Central Government, the APSRTC had installed four rooftop solar plants of 100 Kwp capacity each in 2019 at Madanapalle, Kakinada, Nandyal and Chittoor bus stations under Capex model with a total expenditure of ₹40 lakh for each plant. The expected life of these solar plants is 25 years, he said.

He said the estimated savings on power bill from each rooftop solar plant was ₹92,000 per month and ₹44,16,000 per annum from all four plants. He said the APSRTC and New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP) had identified 22 locations of bus stations and other RTC institutions for installation of rooftop solar systems under RESCO model.

Besides PNBS, the APSRTC had also installed another rooftop solar system at its Central Hospital in Vidyadharapuram in Vijayawada (64 Kwp capacity). Mr. Tirumala Rao said the Corporation would be able to save ₹2.25 lakh per month and ₹27 lakh per year on power tariff due to these two solar plants. The total cost of the two projects was ₹2.50 crore, he added.

He said the average cargo bookings per day had increased from 8,000 in 2017-18 to 25,000 in 2022-23, fetching the corporation a revenue of ₹169.20 crore. He said revenue by the logistics wing was enhanced through bulk bookings, booking of the dicky space in RTC buses and through tie-ups with government departments.

He said to further improve the services, the corporation had launched door pick-up services by its cargo wing. To use this facility, people could visit https://apsrtclogistics.in website, he said.