HYDERABAD: BRS leader T Harish Rao on Tuesday demanded that the state government pay Rs 5,420 crore true-up charges and provide relief to the electricity consumers.
Speaking to reporters here, Harish Rao opposed the true-up charges and wondered: “Why should consumers pay Rs 5,420 crore for the government’s failure in managing the power sector?”
“If the government does not withdraw its decision, the BRS will launch a people’s movement against the electricity burden,” he warned.
The former minister said the Congress government had pushed the power sector into financial difficulties through poor management and was now trying to make consumers pay for those mistakes.
“People are facing power cuts, but the government is increasing their electricity bills. You cannot fail to provide power and then ask people to pay more for it. This is not people’s government; it is putting pressure on the people,” he said.
The Siddipet MLA recalled that during the BRS regime, the Telangana Electricity Regulatory Commission had proposed true-up charges of Rs 12,718.40 crore from 2016-17 to 2021-22. “But, our government did not allow the burden to be passed on to consumers,” he said.
The Congress government neither created a major new power project nor added significant new capacity, he alleged. The BRS leader also opposed the reported move to dilute 26% of TG Transco.