I congratulate everyone in the power utilities: Minister

Energy Minister G Jagadish Reddy has said despite naysayers,has marched forward on the power supply front and reached a stage where it could meet a massive demand of 10,429 MW as it did on Tuesday. Addressing a press conference at Vidyut Soudha, the TSTransco and TSGenco headquarters, Jagadish Reddy said the contracted capacity for power in the State has increased to 15,730 MW as on July 30 against the 7,778 MW as on June 2, 2014, when the State came into being. “I congratulate everyone in the power utilities, from the top officials to the linemen at the field level. This achievement is a result of their dedication and hard work,” the Minister said.

Jagadish Reddy said in reaching Tuesday’s milestone, Telangana State had faced several challenges including not getting its share of electricity as per the AP Reorganization Act and even efforts by some to create hurdles in the State’s attempts to purchase power from other sources. “Such high demand for power is a signpost of development,” he said, adding that Telangana is the only State in the country that supplies the 24×7 power supply to all categories of consumers. 

“Our ability to meet such demand for power is a result of directions and guidance from the Chief Minister who had repeatedly stressed on the quality power supply in the state as a stepping stone for all around development,” he said. What the State’s power utilities have achieved on Tuesday by supplying 10,429 MW, would have been enough to light up a whopping 10,42,90,000 one hundred watt electric bulbs. Answering a question, he rejected the charge that the State was purchasing power at a high cost. “Every power purchase follows an open bidding process and we get power from utilities that quote the lowest prices,” he said.

With respect to power demand for the lift irrigation projects being constructed in the State, he said that once all of them are on stream in two to three years, then they will require a peak load of 10,852MW. There is and will be no problem on this front. “The projects will get power and all they have to do is to switch on their motors,” he said. Unlike being reported in some sections of media, the contract with Chhattisgarh was for the purchase of 1,000MW and not 2,000MW, which it was getting, the CMD of TSTransco and TSGenco D Prabhakar Rao said.“We are very prudent in our power purchases and the average price we pay is Rs 4.24 per unit of electricity. The peak price we pay is Rs 4.80 per unit,” he added.

‘Land purchase scheme will continue’

Minister for SC Development and Energy G Jagadish Reddy said on Tuesday that the State government remained committed to the implementation of the land purchase scheme intended for benefiting landless SC families. Addressing a news conference, he said the government had offered up to Rs 4 lakh per acre in the past. The offer was hiked up to Rs 7 lakh per acre of late, but still it finds not many sellers. A number of irrigation projects were coming up in the State holding hope for the farmers. As a result they were in no mood to part with their land irrespective of the price offered.

Under the land purchase scheme, every landless SC family is being allotted up to three acres. The government would implement the scheme by purchasing land where ever it was available at the price decided by the department of SC Development. Even the opposition parties are welcome to show such lands enabling the government to buy it for distribution to the landless SC families, he said adding that the government would not back out from its commitment to the development of SCs under the programme. He admitted that the pace of implementation of the land purchase scheme needs to be stepped up and every effort was being made in this direction.