Harish Rao demands withdrawal of Rs 5,420 crore power charges

BRS leader T Harish Rao demanded withdrawal of proposed Rs 5,420 crore true-up electricity charges, warning of a statewide agitation. He accused the Congress government of mismanaging power generation, coal and reservoirs, and urged opposition parties to join the movement.

Hyderabad: BRSLP deputy leader and former Minister T Harish Rao demanded the immediate withdrawal of the proposed Rs 5,420 crore true-up electricity charges to be recovered from consumers. He warned of a statewide agitation if the government failed to reverse the decision and asked the Congress government to bear the burden arising out of power purchases.

He appealed to Left and other opposition parties to join the BRS-led movement in support of the people.

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Speaking to the media at Telangana Bhavan on Tuesday, Harish Rao said the government proposed to collect the charges through electricity bills from November, imposing an additional burden on consumers during the Dasara and Diwali festive season. “On one side, there are power cuts and on the other, people are being hit with higher electricity bills,” he said.

Harish Rao said thermal plants were operating well below their installed capacity. Against 13,384 MW of total thermal capacity, less than 8,000 MW was being generated, leaving a 40-45 per cent gap, he added. He also alleged that farmers were facing power cuts and low voltage, with protests being held at substations, and accused the government of bringing back crop holidays and power holidays of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh era.

He questioned why the government was purchasing power at Rs 10-12 per unit from outside while existing generation capacity remained underutilised. Pointing out that the Congress government had failed in coal management, reservoir filling, thermal and hydel generation, he asked why consumers should pay for its failures.

The former Minister recalled that the Telangana Electricity Regulatory Commission had proposed true-up charges of Rs 12,718.40 crore for 2016-17 to 2021-22 during the BRS regime, but then Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao refused to impose the burden on consumers. He reminded that the power issue had been central to the Telangana movement and recalled the Basheerbagh firing in 2000, which led to the killing of three persons during protests against tariff hikes.

Harish Rao pointed out that the previous BRS government had invested about Rs 91,000 crore in the power sector and increased power generation capacity from 7,778 MW before 2014 to 19,450 MW by December 2023. The number of 400-KV substations rose from six to 30, 220-KV substations from 51 to 103 and 132-KV substations from 176 to 251. EHT lines increased from 16,378 km to 28,131 km and transformer capacity from 14,973 MVA to 38,941 MVA.

The BRSLP deputy leader said 6,480 MW of thermal capacity and 3,600 MW of solar capacity had been added under the previous government, including the 800-MW Kothagudem, 1,080-MW Bhadradri and 600-MW Bhupalpally projects and a 4,000-MW ultra-thermal plant.

“The Congress government failed to add new generation capacity or substations after coming to power and instead attributed shortages to El Nino despite the availability of water and coal,” he said. He said that while water was allowed to flow downstream without filling reservoirs, coal production was reduced to adjust irregularities in accounts.

Harish Rao found fault with the alleged move to privatise TG Transco, TG Genco, Singareni and power distribution companies, including the proposed sale of 26 per cent in Transco. He urged power-sector employees to oppose the move and demanded that the government withdraw the privatisation proposals.

Harish Rao also reiterated BRS allegations over 40 lakh tonnes of coal stocks valued at about Rs 1,600 crore and alleged irregularities in their reporting and related tax, cess and CSR payments. He said the BRS had raised the issue earlier and sought action from Union Minister G Kishan Reddy.

He warned that the BRS would launch another public movement unless the true-up charges were withdrawn and the government bore the proposed burden.