VIJAYAWADA: Accusing the previous YSRCP government of mismanagement of Andhra Pradesh’s power sector and ruining the electricity system completely during its tenure, Energy Minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar reaffirmed the coalition government’s commitment to ensuring quality power supply without increasing electricity charges.
Responding to questions raised by YSRCP members in the AP Legislative Assembly on Friday, Gottipati pointed out that while the previous government had repeatedly hiked electricity tariffs, its leaders were now protesting the same issue, misleading the public. He expressed displeasure over the same questions being raised again in the Assembly after being discussed in the Legislative Council just a week ago.
Despite the opposition’s approach, he assured that the coalition government remains committed to responding to every query with transparency and accountability.
Gottipati highlighted that the YSRCP government had placed a massive financial burden of Rs 15,000 crore on the people in the years 2022-23 and 2023-24 due to excessive electricity tariff hikes. He emphasised that during the 2014-19 under the TDP-led government, electricity charges were not increased even once. He further stated that when the TDP government left office, the State had a surplus power supply, but mismanagement over the last five years led to a deteriorating energy sector.
Highlighting the achievements of the TDP government, the minister noted that power generation had reached up to 8 gigawatts. However, under the YSRCP regime, large-scale financial irregularities took place, including purchasing electricity at inflated prices, resulting in thousands of crores in losses.