A well-known personality in the power sector and former chairman of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh State Electricity Board (APSEB), the single entity before its unbundling into to generation, transmission and distribution companies, K. Balarama Reddy died of old age at his residence here on Tuesday. He was 91.
According to energy department officials, Balarama Reddy hailed from Nellore district and had contributed to the power sector development of energy sector in the undivided Andhra Pradesh. He was instrumental in introducing and implementing reforms in the power sector.
Starting his career as an engineer in APSEB in 1953, he rose to become its Chairman during 1992-95. He served the organisation for 42 years, including 7 years in the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) on deputation. As a senior executive of APSEB he was involved in the development of transmission network, system operation, management and administration.
As Chairman of APSEB, he carried out negotiations with independent power producers (IPPs) for establishing private power projects in AP. He was a member of the high-level committee appointed by the then AP government to prepare guidelines on Restructuring and Privatisation of the power sector.
Balarama Reddy also rendered assistance to Electricity Regulatory Commissions of States, including Bihar, Manipur, Meghalaya, Karnataka, Gujarat, Nagaland, Delhi, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Telangana. He was also a senior consultant on power sector with ASCI from 1995. His last rites would be held held at Mahaprasthanam in Jubilee Hills on Thursday.
