Power utilities in the State, after being instructed to focus on round-the-clock uninterrupted power supply and develop power infrastructure to address future requirements, are bracing up to meet the impending surge in electricity demand expected due to creation of 13 new districts in the State.
In a review meeting with representatives of the power utilities, Energy Secretary B. Sreedhar asked the DISCOMs to spread awareness on the advantages of telescopic billing system among domestic consumers.
He said the field officers should make people understand the nuances of the concept, and wanted the field staff to handover leaflets explaining about the system, along with electricity bills, to the consumers.
Mr. Sreedhar said the telescopic system brought in by the A.P. Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) would benefit the consumers as the total consumption of electricity would not be billed at a single slab. The consumers falling in the highest slabs would also get the benefit of lower rates in the lower slabs in this new system, he explained.
He said the new power tariff was aimed at strengthening the supply system and ensure uninterrupted quality power, and also to provide relief to the DISCOMs striving to supply power to 1.91 crore consumers.
Asserting that the charges being collected in the State were low compared to other States, he said people consuming below 100 units of electricity per month in the State were charged ₹3.11 per unit, while in States such as Karnataka, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, people consuming below 100 units had to pay ₹8.26, ₹8.33, ₹7.74, ₹7.20, ₹6.19, ₹6.61 and ₹6.10 respectively.
He said in the State, out of the total 1.5 crore domestic consumers, 1.44 crore (almost 95%) come in the “below 225 units” category. The power utilities were collecting charges from consumers (below 225 units) at rates less than the average cost of service of all the three DISCOMs.
He said the focus of the government was on ensuring uninterrupted quality power to the consumers and that the supply interruptions now and then due to technical reasons were being addressed on a war-footing.
He said in the last two years, the government had extended financial support to the power utilities to the tune of ₹34,000 crore.
