Energy Minister Balineni Srinivasa Reddy on Saturday said the government had no plan to increase power tariff in spite of heavy losses (amounting to nearly ₹70,000 crore) incurred by the State power utilities, for which he blamed the Telugu Desam Party government.
Constant efforts were being made to improve the functioning and efficiencies of power utilities in order to pull them out of the red, according to the Minister.
Speaking after inaugurating the corporate office of the newly-formed A.P. Central Power Distribution Corporation Limited (CPDCL) here, Mr. Reddy said the present government was under an obligation to buy renewable energy (RE) in excess of the requirement owing to the agreements signed by the previous (TDP) government.
Reforms were initiated in the power sector and the review of the RE power purchase agreements was a part of clearing the mess created by the previous dispensation.
Due emphasis was laid on reducing the T&D losses and minimising interruptions, he stated, adding that the CPDCL was intended to bring services closer to the consumers in Krishna, Guntur and Prakasam districts.
Free power
Endowments Minister Vellampalli Srinivasa Rao said free power was being supplied to farmers keeping in view their plight and efforts were under way to achieve desired results in the sector.
MLAs Malladi Vishnu (Vijayawada central) and Gadde Rammohan Rao (Vijayawada east), Energy Secretary N. Srikanth, CPDCL CMD J. Padma, SPDCL CMD H. Haranatha Rao and CPDCL directors V. Santosh Rao and V. Balasubrahmanyam and others were present.
