Coalition govt delivered historic True-Down: Minister

Vijayawada: Energy minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar on Thursday said that the adverse decisions taken by the previous YSRCP government under the leadership of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy continue to cast a long shadow over the power sector and the people of Andhra Pradesh, even five years later.

In a statement, the minister alleged that the former regime, driven by “commission-based politics,” resorted to indiscriminate and high-cost power purchases while neglecting the optimal use of domestic power resources.

This, he said, resulted in an unjust Rs 32,166 crore burden being imposed on the public in the name of ‘True-Up’ charges. He expressed concern that the people are still paying the price for what he described as destructive power policies pursued during the YCP’s five-year rule.

The minister noted that until 2019, Andhra Pradesh was a power-surplus state, but misgovernance and policy paralysis under the previous government pushed the state into a crisis. He further alleged that electricity tariffs were increased nine times, placing severe financial stress on households.

Highlighting the initiatives of the present coalition government, Gottipati Ravi Kumar said that soon after assuming office, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu initiated wide-ranging reforms to protect consumers from further financial burden. Excessive power purchases from private players at exorbitant rates were curtailed, while power generation capacity was restored to optimal levels through various Energy Department projects.

He added that the government is attracting fresh investments into the power sector and effectively converging central government schemes to bring down electricity costs. Special focus is being placed on expanding solar and wind energy, along with battery storage and pumped storage systems, while external power purchases are being strictly regulated to ensure long-term stability.

The energy minister said that since the establishment of the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) in 1999, the coalition government has created history by implementing a True-Down for the first time in 26 years. He reiterated that the previous YCP government had imposed tariff hikes amounting to Rs 32,166 crore on the public under the pretext of True-Up charges.

He announced that the coalition government has decided to absorb the entire additional True-Up burden, ensuring that no further financial load is passed on to consumers. Efforts are underway to continuously reduce power purchase costs, and concrete plans are being prepared to further lower electricity tariffs in the coming days.

Ravi Kumar asserted that the credit for this historic achievement goes to Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.