VIJAYAWADA: There will not be any hike in power tariffs in Andhra Pradesh for the next three years, maintaining the zero-hike trajectory established over the past two years, Energy Minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar announced, attributing the consumer-centric decision directly to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Presenting a comprehensive Action Taken Report (ATR) on the energy sector white paper originally issued by the Chief Minister in 2024, the Minister noted that this marks the first official ATR submitted by the alliance government on its series of state status updates.
While the previous administration increased power tariffs nine times, the current government is fully aligned with executive directives to keep electricity charges completely stable for the foreseeable future.
The report detailed a massive financial turnaround, contrasting the coalition’s fiscal discipline against a staggering Rs 1,29,503 crore aggregate net loss inflicted on the power sector during Jagan Mohan Reddy’s five-year misrule.
Ravi Kumar presented a detailed audit showing that the previous regime passed on an additional consumer burden of Rs 32,166 crore via nine tariff hikes, primarily driven by purchasing power at exorbitant open-market rates of Rs 12 to Rs 15 per unit.
Furthermore, due to severe administrative negligence, liabilities skyrocketed by Rs 49,596 crore—ballooning total power utility debts from Rs 72,826 crore to an unprecedented Rs 1,12,422 crore. Total losses from administrative and project execution lapses accounted for another Rs 47,741 crore.
A major chunk of these losses stems from critical infrastructure delays and controversial policies between 2019 and 2024.
The ATR revealed that a 55-month delay at the VTPS 800 MW unit expansion and a 44-month overrun at the Krishnapatnam thermal plant combined for a loss of over Rs 13,000 crore (Rs 7,000 crore and Rs 5,900 crore respectively).
Furthermore, contractual disruptions under the guise of “reverse tendering” caused the Polavaram Hydroelectric Project to miss its 2023 deadline, draining Rs 4,737 crore in potential revenue. To insulate the public from these legacy liabilities, the current administration has absorbed Rs 4,497 crore of past true-up charges, budgeted a massive Rs 15,790 crore subsidy pool for the 2026–27 fiscal year, and introduced a national-first 13-paise “true-down” rebate for consumers.
Operationally, the state has achieved severe cost compressions, slashing average power procurement costs by 52 paise per unit—from Rs 5.42 to Rs 4.90—over the last two years, with technical upgrades tightening line losses down from 12.05% to 9.99%.
Restored fuel protocols enabled APGenco plants to clock a lifetime-high peak generation of 6,160 MW on March 11 this year, running at a Plant Load Factor exceeding 85%. He said AP re-emerged as a green energy powerhouse, leveraging the Integrated Clean Energy Policy–2024 to secure over ₹6 lakh crore in renewable commitments in just two years.