BRS asks TGERC to reject 7,800 MW power procurement proposal

Hyderabad: The BRS urged the Telangana Electricity Regulatory Commission (TGERC) to reject the State government’s proposal to procure 7,800 MW of power. The party warned that it would impose an additional financial burden on consumers without addressing the existing shortcomings in power supply.

Instead, the party demanded that any additional generation capacity be developed through public-sector entities such as Telangana Genco and Singareni rather than private companies.

Participating in the public hearing on “Procurement of Renewable Energy (RE) Power and Storage, and Singareni Thermal Power Project Stage-II” on Tuesday, former Energy Minister and BRS MLA G Jagadish Reddy questioned the need for such large-scale purchases when the State already had an installed capacity of around 26,000–27,000 MW, built during the previous BRS government.

He said the Congress government was unable to utilise available power efficiently, resulting in supply interruptions to farmers and restrictions on industries. “Farmers are facing power cuts during night hours, while some industries are being asked orally to suspend operations between 6 pm and 10 pm,” he said.

Jagadish Reddy warned that additional procurement from outside Telangana Genco could lead to higher tariffs and true-up charges, with consumers being made to pay even for power purchased but not supplied. He questioned the rationale for buying more electricity when the government was allegedly unable to distribute the power already available.

The BRS legislator also pointed to the lack of investment in transmission and distribution infrastructure over the past three years. “The Congress had not added even a kilometre of transmission line or built a new substation in the last three years. How would the proposed additional power be transmitted and distributed?” he asked.

Citing the COVID-19 pandemic period, he said the previous government had managed a sudden spike in demand from 10,000 MW to 14,000 MW without interruption. He attributed this to advance planning and infrastructure development.

Jagadish Reddy urged the Commission to examine the possibility of procuring solar power through SECI and NTPC at lower rates and explore additional generation through Telangana Genco and Singareni. The Commission should reject the present proposals and consider fresh options only after assessing their cost and feasibility, he added.