He strongly opposed the proposed electricity tariff hike by the Congress government, which could burden the public with Rs 18,500 crore.
BRS working president K T Rama Rao today voiced strong opposition to the proposed electricity tariff hike by the Congress government, which he said would burden the public by Rs 18,500 crore.
He urged the Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) to reject the proposals submitted by the government through the power distribution companies (Discoms).
KTR, along with former minister and MLA Jagadish Reddy, and other senior party leaders, met the ERC in Hyderabad and handed over a letter on behalf of the BRS. He expressed concerns about the nine proposals made by the discoms, warning that they could severely affect the financial well-being of the public.
One of the key proposals involves increasing the fixed charges for households consuming more than 300 units per month, from Rs 10 to Rs 50. KTR called this proposal "highly dangerous", and cautioned that it would push ordinary households into financial hardship.
KTR also criticized the proposal to group all industries under a single tariff category, calling it an "ill-conceived and unfair" idea that could harm the industrial sector. "This move is unprecedented in the State, and poses a serious threat to Telangana's progress, especially given that the State's industrial sector was already under pressure," he said. He cited Foxconn's decision to exclude Telangana from its expansion plans, favouring other States like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, as an example of the impact of the government's policies, and said that several industrial units had already relocated out of Telangana since the Congress government took office.
He also slammed the government's silence on the Central government's proposal to install metres on agricultural pumps, saying that the people were already frustrated with the unreliable power supply.
Reflecting on the tenure of former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, KTR recalled that similar proposals for tariff hikes were rejected during KCR's administration. "When the discoms proposed a hike for a True-Up charge of Rs 1,200 crore, KCR ensured that the government absorbed the cost without burdening the public," he said.
He said that electricity was a basic necessity for the common man, and that under KCR's leadership the State provided free electricity to farmers and 24-hour power supply to households. Free power was also extended to barbers, washermen and dalits, he said.
"We created capacity, too. When Telangana was formed, we had a power capacity of 7,000 MW. Today, that has increased to 24,000 MW," he also said.
KTR warned that increasing electricity charges could derail the State's progress, and urged the ERC chairman to reject the "arbitrary" hike in power tariffs.
The ERC has scheduled a public hearing on October 23, where KTR and his team plan to present their arguments against the proposals. Ahead of the hearing, KTR is raising public awareness about the consequences of the proposed power hikes. "We will present a strong case against the reckless decisions of the government at the public hearing on October 23," KTR said.