Opposition to power tariff hike proposal in Telangana gets stronger, BRS asks Govt to bear the burden
Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council and senior BRS leader Sirikonda Madusudhana Chary asked the State govt to bear the burden of the hike proposed by the Discoms and compensate the companies in the form of subsidy.
Hyderabad: The opposition to the proposed hike in power tariff by the Telangana Southern Power Distribution Company of Limited (TGSPDCL) and Telangana Northern Power Distribution Company of Limited (TGNPDCL) is getting stronger, with the Bharat Rashtra Samithi and people including farmers, industry representatives and general consumers vehemently opposing the proposed hike at the public hearing organised by the Telangana State Electricity Regulatory Commission (TGERC) here on Wednesday.
Strongly opposing the proposals of power distribution companies (discoms) to hike the power tariff and other charges, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council and senior BRS leader Sirikonda Madusudhana Chary asked the State government to bear the burden of the hike proposed by the Discoms and compensate the companies in the form of subsidy.
Speaking at the hearing, which was to discuss the Aggregate Revenue Requirement (ARR) for the year 2024-25 filed by the TGSPDCL before the Commission, Chary, representing the BRS, said the tariff hike might bring more revenue to power companies, but the hike would be a burden on the poor, hence the Commission should not accept the proposal of the discoms.
Recalling the efforts made by the previous BRS government to turn Telangana from a power shortage State to power surplus State, the former Speaker said when the State was formed in 2014, there was not enough power for domestic consumers, agriculture and industries, but the first Chief Minister of the State, K Chandrashekhar Rao, through his vision and efforts in a short span made Telangana a power surplus State.
“KCR realised that until the power sector was strengthened, the State could not progress. Hence, he invested a lot of money in this sector. He made the State self sufficient in power,” he pointed out, adding that the BRS government under the leadership of Chandrashekhar Rao brought revolutionary changes in the power sector and from a meagre 7000 MW in 2014, the installed capacity was increased to over 24,000 MW in 2023.
“Between 2015-2023, it was a “Golden Era” for the power sector in Telangana. There was round the clock power available for all the sectors. Despite investing so much money in the power sector, KCR never thought of increasing the tariff as it would burden the common man. KCR never viewed the power sector as a medium of earning revenue, but as a source to bring economic development. That’s why he never allowed an increase in power tariff during his tenure,” he recalled.
Urging the Commission to reject the proposals of the two Discoms, Chary warned that if the hike was allowed, it would affect all the sectors resulting in negative growth and burden on common man. “If the proposal of Discoms is accepted there is a fear that a lot of small industries will be forced to shut down,”he warned.
The Discoms in the proposal had said that their total expenditure was about Rs.40,000 crore and the income was Rs.34,000 crore. They were getting a subsidy of Rs. 5,000 crore from the government, he said, adding that just to get Rs.1000 crore, why were the Discoms hiking the tariff as the government could easily pay it.
“The way ARR was submitted, it appears as if the government itself has prepared it to raise income,” he said.
