Congress defends Farmer Discom proposal

Bhongir Lok Sabha member Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy and MLC Addanki Dayakar said the electricity dues had increased from ₹1,595 crore in 2014 to ₹31,698 crore at present.

The Northern Power Distribution Company Limited (NPDCL), which ranked ninth in the country in 2014, had slipped to the 54th position, while and Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (SPDCL) had fallen from 16th to 42nd place during the BRS regime, severely hitting the power sector, Mr. Reddy said while defending the State government’s proposal to establish a separate - Farmer Discom.

Participating in the public hearing conducted by the Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC), the Congress leaders accused the BRS of spreading misinformation and politicising the issue for narrow political gains.

Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy said opposition parties were making speculative allegations without understanding the financial condition of the power utilities. “The Farmer Discom is being introduced to strengthen the existing power utilities and provide a reliable power supply to the agricultural sector,” he said. He alleged that the previous BRS government had burdened the discoms with huge debts and the Congress government was now attempting to restore financial discipline.

MLC Addanki Dayakar accused the previous BRS government of pushing the discoms into a debt trap by failing to clear subsidy and electricity dues despite repeatedly claiming credit for free power supply to farmers.

“The BRS government publicised free power schemes, but it did not pay the dues owed to the discoms, forcing them into massive debt,” Mr. Dayakar alleged. He also clarified that the issue of smart meters had originated during the BRS tenure itself through agreements signed with the Union Ministry of Power in 2017.