Telangana can’t buy, sell power: Centre

Hyderabad: In yet another instance of exhibiting extreme partisan attitude, the Centre has barred Telangana from carrying out buying or selling power ostensibly till dues to power plants were cleared. However, what it has ignored is the fact that Telangana has already cleared dues of Rs 1,370 crore. The union government’s decision has sent power […]

Hyderabad: In yet another instance of exhibiting extreme partisan attitude, the Centre has barred Telangana from carrying out buying or selling power ostensibly till dues to power plants were cleared. However, what it has ignored is the fact that Telangana has already cleared dues of Rs 1,370 crore.

The union government’s decision has sent power officials into a tizzy as not only the power dues were cleared but the Centre had also disregarded the Telangana High Court order on the issue. On a petition dated April 25, 2022, the High Court had allowed Telangana Discoms and Telangana State Power Coordination Committee (TSPCC) to operate through the power exchange as well as secure power through open access without any hindrance, pending disposal of the writ petition.

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Telangana Energy department officials have made it clear that all the payments indicated in Praapti portal are made. They requested the Centre “not to take any further action restricting the Telangana utilities either from drawing or selling power through exchange.”

The other States that were barred from carrying out power transactions are: Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur and Mizoram.

Following the sudden development, the energy department officials were busy making arrangements to ensure continuous power supply in the State.

Officials said they were bracing for power outages as the possibility looms large in 13 States following the Centre’s decision.

Officials were mulling knocking on the door of the High Court with a contempt petition. “We will file a contempt of court petition in the High Court on Monday,” a senior power official said. He felt that the Centre’s move was to browbeat the State by creating problems for the power utilities in Telangana.