HANAMKONDA: Stating 7.16 lakh consumers failed to pay their bills totaling about Rs 305 crore, Telangana State Northern Power Distribution Company Limited chairman and managing director A Gopal Rao on Thursday said that the TSNPDCL has decided to collect Advance Consumption Demand (ACD) charges.
He added that this decision was in line with the guidelines issued by the Telangana Electricity Regulatory Commission (TSERC). “Notices regarding ACD charges were issued in January,” Gopal Rao said.
He added that the interest on the ACD charges would be calculated as per RBI guidelines and would be adjusted in the consumer’s bill. “The TSNPDCL has been collecting ACD, a refundable security charge from consumers by asking them to pay an amount equal to their electricity bill for two months,” Gopal Rao said.
He said that the ACD is based on the monthly average power consumed by each consumer for a year. “The ACD is being collected for providing better services to consumers,” Gopal Rao said.
He alleged that some people were deliberately misleading consumers through the social media platforms on ACD. “Reports being circulated on social media platforms that the TSNPDCL is going to increase power tariff is baseless. There is no proposal as such to increase power tariffs,” Gopal Rao said.
Why are ministers mum on ACD charges: Jeevan Reddy
Congress MLC T Jeevan Reddy on Wednesday demanded to know why ministers remained tightlipped over the ACD charges.He extended solidarity with party activists, led by City Congress president K Narender Reddy, who staged a one-day hunger strike against the proposed ACD charges.