AP Becomes First State To Allow Private Data Centres Distribution Licences

Amaravati, May 7 (KNN) The Andhra Pradesh government has cleared a power distribution licence for the upcoming Google data centre project in Visakhapatnam under a newly introduced policy framework for strategic data centres.

The state government issued an order introducing a policy framework to provide deemed distribution licences (DDL) to strategic data centres, recognising their specialised requirements in power procurement, development, and maintenance of distribution infrastructure.

According to the order issued by the Energy Department, the move was aimed at facilitating data centre projects possessing the required expertise to independently manage electricity distribution for their operations, reported The Hindu.

Private Data Centres Eligible For Distribution Licences 

The policy makes Andhra Pradesh the first state in the country to permit private firms outside the power sector to obtain distribution licences.

Under the policy, data centre projects developed by a single investor with a minimum connected load of 300 MW or more within the state will be eligible for a DDL. Investors will also be allowed to aggregate power loads across multiple data centre locations to meet the threshold requirement.

The framework specifies that power supplied under the licence must be restricted exclusively to data centre operations within the approved licensed area and cannot be extended to third-party consumers.

Multiple Power Procurement Options Allowed 

The policy also allows data centres to procure electricity from multiple lawful sources, including renewable energy generators through bilateral power purchase agreements, open access, captive generation plants, and power exchanges.

The state government has been actively promoting data centres as a key investment sector to position Andhra Pradesh as a digital infrastructure hub.

Last month, the foundation stone was laid for the Google Cloud India AI Hub project in Anakapalli district, which is being developed with an investment of USD 15 billion.

(KNN Bureau)