New Delhi: The Congress government in Telangana is well prepared to meet the peak electricity demand of the state during the April-May summer months, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka asserted on Monday as he accused opposition BRS of spreading “lies” about power cuts.
He told a press conference here that the state’s discoms have already tied up for the required quantum of power through long-term and short-term contracts.
The state’s power sector was neglected under the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS)
government due to its wrong policies, and now former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao is spreading “lies”, he alleged at a press conference here.
Hitting out at BRS supremo Rao, Vikramarka said, “He was acting as if there was power cut while he was addressing (a gathering) in Suryapet City on Sunday. There was problem with the generator and he was blaming the three-month-old (Congress) government.”
“I am shocked to hear all kinds of lies. All stories were cooked up,” he said and asserted that “the power situation in Telangana is absolutely fine and there is no problem”.
The state, Vikramarka said, “is well prepared to meet the peak summer demand…”.
The peak power demand has been around 14,000-15,000 megawatt since the last two weeks and it is expected to be around the same till mid-April, said the Congress leader who was in Delhi for the party’s Central Election Committee’s meeting.
Vikramarka said the peak demand is estimated to be 15,000 megawatt in April, while 11,000 megawatt in May. The availability of energy is almost at par with the average daily requirement of 265 million unit per day in April and 230 million unit per day in May, he added.
Discoms have entered into contracts for supply of 1,000 megawatt through power exchanges on round-the-clock basis till April 20 and for bilateral banking of 238 megawatt from Punjab till April 15, he said and added that the Centre has allocated 180 megawatt of additional power till April 15 following the state government’s request.
He also mentioned that the power supply position has improved significantly since December 2023. The maximum peak load met was 15,623 megawatt on March 8.
The “problems and miseries” of the people of Telangana are due to the previous government’s wrong decision with respect to a NTPC project and the Yadadri and Bhadradri thermal power plants, he said.
Vikramarka said the previous BRS government is responsible for not getting environmental clearance (EC) for the Yadadri thermal power plant. The current state government has pursued the matter, he said.
The next meeting for granting EC is scheduled on April 5, the deputy chief minister said.
The Badradri thermal power plant was developed with outdated technology resulting in higher cost. Even the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project is facing problems, he added.
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