Telugu Desam Party (TDP) State executive secretary N. Brahmam Chowdary alleged that the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government imposed a burden of nearly ₹27,500 crore on electricity consumers by increasing the power tariffs ten times under the guise of various charges in the last five years.
Addressing a press conference at the party office near Mangalagiri on Wednesday, Mr. Brahmam said the cost of power purchases from the open market stood at a whopping ₹20,000 crore. These purchases involved huge kickbacks, he alleged.
There have been power cuts across the State, and the situation is so dire that doctors are forced to do surgeries under torchlight, he claimed.
He stated that the power tariffs were increased in the form of true-up charges, with slabs being changed and consumers having to pay additional load deposits.
The government also owed ₹2,851 crore to Coal India Limited towards the cost of coal procured by AP-Genco. The Secretary of Ministry of Coal even wrote to the Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh seeking repayment of the dues, Mr. Brahmam alleged.
Without clearing the dues of the power utilities, the government cleared bills amounting to ₹16,000 crore to contractors/businessmen close to the ruling party leaders.
Mr. Brahmam said the government had surplus power of 19,680 MW before the YSRCP took over the reins in 2019 whereas the Y.S. Jagan government burdened the consumers with various charges.
The government made such a mess of the power sector that it had to announce a ‘power holiday’ for industries, which had no precedent in the last seven decades, the TDP leader added.
