Govt to come up with new power policy soon: Revanth Reddy

Hyderabad: The State government will soon come up with a new and comprehensive electricity policy to continue uninterrupted power supply and also to extend provide free power up to 200 units for domestic connections under the proposed Gruha Jyothi scheme. The draft policy will be released after extensive study of best policies in other States and consultations with experts and other stakeholders.

In an extensive review of the power sector held at the Dr BR Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat here on Wednesday, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy asked officials to submit detailed reports on the overall power generation, power purchases, consumption, fiscal performance of distribution companies (discoms) and their operations among others. He instructed officials to conduct a detailed study on agreements signed between power utilities and the Telangana State Electricity Regulatory Commission (TSERC) since 2014.

He sought complete details of the content of these agreements and payment structures including specific details pertaining to higher power purchase rates with relevant reasons.

The Chief Minister directed the officials to purchase electricity at lower prices from companies available in the open market. He opined that the State was facing multiple challenges in ensuring adequate power supply, arising from the absence of a proper electricity policy. He called for a thorough examination of electricity policies implemented in other States and submit reports in this regard.

“Electricity experts and elected representatives from all the political parties in the Legislative Assembly, should be involved to formulate a new electricity policy for Telangana,” he said.

Revanth Reddy reiterated that the State government was committed to continue 24-hour free electricity to farmers, aligning with promises made to them during the elections. He directed the officials to prepare proposals to supply free electricity to households up to 200 units through the proposed Gruha Jyothi scheme. He also asked them to accelerate ongoing construction works and explore opportunities to establish additional power companies. Besides curbing illegal usage of electricity, he asked the officials to improve quality of power supply and prevent illegal usage.

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, along with Ministers N Uttam Kumar Reddy, D Sridhar Babu, Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari, Special Chief Secretary for Finance K Ramakrishna Rao and other senior officials, also participated in the meeting.