Hyderabad: The Telangana government continues to play shifty regarding the proposals submitted by the two power distribution companies seeking a tariff hike of nearly 5.8 per cent.
The proposals were submitted secretly late on Saturday. If the proposals are accepted it would fetch around Rs 1,100 crore to the discoms. The southern and northern discoms (TSSPDCL and NSPDCL) calculated an amount of Rs 26,700 crore as operating expenditure, pegged the net deficit at Rs 6,700 crore and asked the government to provide it as subsidy.
Normally, the proposals would be revealed instantly and the details hosted on the website. However, this time, even on Sunday, they were not put in the public domain and no top official was available for comment. Power minister Jagadish Reddy was also evasive.
“I am not aware of the fact that the proposals were submitted. I am in New Delhi. Normally the issue comes before the ERC first and later to the government. I would react only when it comes to us. There is time,” he said. Though the hike is moderate the government appears to be buying time to keep public anger at bay. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who is camping in New Delhi, is likely to react about the proposals after his return, sources said. It might be recalled that the government has directed the discoms to change the proposals and ensure no burden falls on farmers and BPL families.
A GoM with six ministers was also formed to look into all aspects including tariff hike. Now, except for Mr Jagadish Reddy, who heads the GoM, none of the ministers are aware of the discoms’ exercise. Since it was mentioned in the proposals that there would be no hike for households who consume less than 100 units and farmers were also spared, the state feels it can counter criticism.
