Telangana govt schools to get power tariff relief

The Telangana government is contemplating shifting the power tariff of the government schools from commercial to domestic category

Hyderabad: Government schools in the State can soon expect a big relief from excessive electricity bills, which burns a major hole in their annual grants.

The State government is contemplating shifting the power tariff of the government schools from commercial to domestic category. The Education Department has been asked to chalk out a plan for implementing a domestic slab for the government schools.

---

During the academic year 2023-24, out of 26,074 government and local body schools in the State, 24,084 schools have electricity. Following the introduction of digital classes, computer labs, science labs, and interactive flat panels in several government and local body schools, the electricity bills have gone up, burdening the school managements. Depending on the enrollment, government schools are receiving power bills ranging from Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000 per month.

While the government extends the annual school grant of Rs 12,500 to Rs 75,000 to schools depending on the strength, a chunk of the amount goes into paying power bills, leaving little or no money for purchasing stationery and registers besides paying broadband bills. Given this, the teacher associations brought the issue to the notice of the government and wanted a change in the power tariff slab from commercial to domestic. The associations also sought free electricity for the schools that consume up to 200 units of power under the Gruha Jyothi scheme.

The government last month issued orders extending solar electrical power to 6,490 government and residential schools. The School Education Department sanctioned the installation of grid solar electrical power connections in Zilla Parishad High Schools, Mandal Parishad Primary Schools, Telangana State Model Schools and Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas.

The premises of these schools are being installed with 2KW, 5KW, and 10KW solar power-generating panels based on the enrollment. Earlier, a total of 1,521 schools in 11 districts were powered with solar energy under the BRS government’s ‘Mana Ooru-Mana Badi’ programme.