HYDERABAD: Domestic power consumption increased by around 15 per cent in March, 2020 compared to the last year, due to the lockdown. “As people are now confined to their homes, the usage of air conditioners, fans and other electrical gadgets has increased during daytime. This has resulted in higher power consumption,” Energy Minister G Jagadish Reddy told reporters here on Monday.
The Minister held a review meet with officials on the power situation. Later, he appealed to citizens to pay their power bills. “No consumer will get inflated bills. If there is a payment in excess, the same will be adjusted once the meter reading is taken after the lockdown,” the Minister said. Jagadish Reddy asked consumers to pay their power bills online. He assured that there would be no problem in providing 24x7 power to the domestic and other sectors as well.
As per the ERC’s orders, consumers have to pay the same amount in March, 2020 as they did in March, 2019. “The Discoms will not take even `1 extra from the consumers, the excess or less amounts will be adjusted in future bills,” the Minister said. With regard to commercial consumers, meter reading was taken for 10,700 commercial establishments and bills were provided on actual usage, the Minister said.
The total bill demand generated for March in TSSPDCL was `620 crore and it was `203 crore in NDPCL. The power demand in March, 2019 was 8,900 MW and it was 7,800 MW in March, 2020. Had there been no Coronavirus, the demand would have been 13,500 MW. TS Transco and Genco chairman and MD Devulapalli Prabhakar Rao and TSSPDCL chairman and MD G Raghuma Reddy were also present.