The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has alleged that the YSRCP government has turned the Discoms into ‘toll tax centres’, adding that the government has levied ₹20,548 crore on the people during the last three years.
In a statement on Wednesday, TDP senior leader and former Energy Minister K. Kala Venkat Rao said it was unfortunate that true-up charges were being collected for the power that was consumed during 2014 and 2019.
The government had urged the APERC to allow it to collect the true-up charges with a plea that the Discoms were running in losses. The government has no right to collect the true-up charges. Instead, it should clear the dues of the Discoms, he said.
The government is supposed to pay ₹15,474 crore to the Discoms towards subsidies, and ₹9,783 crore for the power consumed by various government departments. In all, the Discoms were supposed to be paid ₹25,257 crore. The government, however, ‘shamelessly’ told the High Court in its affidavit that the Discoms had slipped into a debt trap of ₹38,836 crore, he said.
The people were suffering due to the inefficiency of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. The other States were making arrangements as per their annual demand and requirements. They were constructing either new plants or entering into MoUs to meet the energy demand. But, the Andhra Pradesh government was buying power from open market on a daily basis at exorbitant rates. The burden is passed on to the consumers, he added.
