An Increase of 119 % in power demand in the State: Raghuma Reddy

In a statement here, Raghuma Reddy said with increase in agriculture and industrial power connections across the State and higher development and infrastructure growth consumption has increased sharply in the last eight years.

Hyderabad: Chairman and Managing Director of Southern Power Distribution Company of Telangana Limited (TSSPDCL) G Raghuma Reddy has said that there has been an increase of 119 percent in power demand in the State.

In a statement here, Raghuma Reddy said with increase in agriculture and industrial power connections across the State and higher development and infrastructure growth consumption has increased sharply in the last eight years. The power consumption in the State has reached 284 MU this year, he said and added that the per capita consumption which was 1196 units at the time of formation of the State has now increased to 2126 units, an 114 percent growth.

Raghuma Reddy said his company was focusing on sustaining its supply of “quality and reliable” power and increasing its renewable energy portfolio. The company already has more than 3,400 megawatts of solar power connected to its grid and in the next two years, it will add a further 3,600 megawatts of solar power, he informed.

He said at the time of formation of the State there were a lot of power shortages and there were power cuts for four to eight hours a day for all categories of consumers. However, under the direction of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao power reforms were initiated and within a period of six months the State was able to overcome power cuts.

Raghuma Reddy said the company has been providing 24-hour electricity to its agricultural consumers free of charge since 1 January 2018. “I think we are the only State in the country giving 24 hours of free power to agricultural customers,” he said. The TSSPDCL has around 1.3 million agriculture pump sets under it, he informed.

The installed power capacity at the time of formation of the State was only 7,778 MW and as a result of the government’s efforts, the State now has an installed power capacity of 18,069 MW, he said.