VIJAYAWADA: The TDP-led NDA government will not install smart meters on motors used for agricultural purposes, announced Energy Minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar on Monday.
During a session in the Legislative Council, Ravi Kumar criticised the previous YSRCP government for leaving the power sector burdened with a debt of Rs 1.29 lakh crore.
He also highlighted the negative impact of the cancellation of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) by the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government, which, according to him, deterred industrialists from investing in the State.
Gottipati emphasised that the State government introduced the Electricity Duty (Second Amendment) Act, 2024 to rectify anomalies created by the previous regime. He assured that the Act would not impose any additional burden on electricity consumers.
He further noted that the YSRC government had passed the bill in 2021 but failed to clarify concerns regarding the imposition of duty on consumers.
He alleged financial mismanagement under the YSRC, stating that Rs 3,000 crore in dues to the ERC were left pending at the end of the TDP’s tenure in 2019, and accused the YSRC of increasing this debt to Rs 6,000 crore by 2022-23 and making proposals to burden consumers with an additional Rs 17,000 crore for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
