Fifty per cent of the total money being paid by citizens of Greater Hyderabad to the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board for water, is going towards payment of the Board’s electricity bills.

HMWS&SB is paying Rs 24 crore for power every month. What’s more, the monthly power bill will jump to more than Rs 50 crore once the Krishna Phase-III and Godavari Phase-I projects are commissioned. The HMWS&SB requires 100 MW of power to pump water from Krishna Phase-I and II, Manjira and Singur. Another 200 MW would be required to pump water from Krishna Phase-III and Godavari Phase-I, taking the total power requirement to 300 MW.

Even after a hike in water tariff, the monthly income of the Board is about Rs 50 crore. Already, there are many complaints from citizens about erratic water supply. Power interruptions both at the pumping stations of the Water Board and within the city distribution areas have been throwing the water supply schedule out of gear.

Then, the Water Board is being charged Rs 3.90 per unit of electricity. This tariff is on par with industrial (HT category-2) consumers). Repeated pleas by the Board that it is a public utility and so the tariff should be reduced have been rejected by the Andhra Pradesh State Electricity Regulatory Commission.

To overcome all these problems, the HMWS&SB is seeking a dedicated power plant for it to pump water from Krishna, Manjira, Singur and ensuing Krishna Phase-III and Godavari phase-I water schemes. Officials of the HMWS&SB also held discussions with APTransco and APGenco authorities on the feasibility of setting up an exclusive power plant for the Water Board.

“The Water Board does not have the kind of money needed to set up a power plant. The state government should finance the project and also provide subsidy on electricity tariff to the Water Board,” a senior official of the Board said. Presently, the Board is drawing 345 million gallons of water daily. Once Krishna Phase-III and Godavari Phase-I are commissioned, the Board will be drawing over 600 million gallons of water per day.

Water Board engineer-in-chief, Mr M. Satyanarayana, said a dedicated power plant for water supply is the need of the hour. However, the cash-starved Board cannot finance such projects on its own. “We are writing to the government for subsidy on electricity tariff and to fund a power plant project,” Mr Satyanarayana said.