It’s a double whammy for people of TG, says Harish

Hyderabad: Former Minister and BRS Deputy Floor Leader T Harish Rao opposed the proposed increase in electricity charges and said the Congress government was putting an additional burden of Rs 5,420 crore on consumers through true-up charges.

Speaking at a press conference at Telangana Bhavan, Harish Rao said people were already suffering because of power cuts and rising prices. “During Dasara and Diwali, the government should have given people some relief. Instead, it has increased the burden of electricity bills. Why should consumers pay Rs 5,420 crore for the government’s failures in managing the power sector?” he asked.

Harish Rao said the Congress government had pushed the power sector into financial difficulties through poor management and was now trying to make consumers pay for those mistakes.

“People are facing power cuts, but the government is increasing their electricity bills. You cannot fail to provide power and then ask people to pay more for it. This is not people’s government; it is putting pressure on the people,” he said.

He recalled that during the BRS government, the Telangana Electricity Regulatory Commission had proposed true-up charges of Rs 12,718.40 crore for the period from 2016-17 to 2021-22.

“Despite that, KCR did not allow the burden to be passed on to consumers. He clearly said that the burden of the power companies should not be put on the people. But today, the Congress government is trying to impose a Rs 5,420 crore burden on consumers,” Harish Rao said.

“Before 2014, the state’s power generation capacity was around 7,778 MW. By December 2023, it had increased to around 19,450 MW. The transmission network was also expanded significantly, with new substations, transmission lines and transformers,” he said also criticised the government for not fully utilising available water for hydel power generation.

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