HYDERABAD: Asserting that the fundamental principle of the new Discom was to provide better services and quality power to farmers, Telangana Rythu Power Distribution Company Limited (TGRPDCL) CMD Mohammed Musharraf Ali Faruqui on Friday clarified that “no metering of electricity consumption would be done to any individual agriculture electricity consumer”.
Participating in the public hearing conducted by the Telangana Electricity Regulatory Commission (TGREC) on the application filed by TGRPDCL for grant of distribution licence, Musharraf said that the “creation of a separate Discom was not a hasty decision”.
Stating that the new reform was proposed to improve services and efficiency of the power sector, he recalled that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy announced the formation of the new Discom on July 30, 2025 and it was approved by the state Cabinet in December 2025.
He explained that the parameters of Telangana Discoms were ‘decreasing’ year after year and the accumulated losses of the proposed new Discom in 2024–25 were Rs 69,741 crore.
Musharraf further said that out of every 100 units of power supplied in the state, only 80 units are accounted for or generate income. “For the remaining 20 units, there were no calculations or no income. Telangana Discoms were last in the ratings in the country,” he said.
Stating that NPDCL was in last position and SPDCL third last, he said that the country’s average A&T losses were 15%, whereas Telangana’s were 20%.
The CMD also said that the financial position of Telangana Discoms is the weakest in the country.
On some people asking “what’s the emergency to form the third Discom in a hurried manner”, Musharraf said that Telangana’s economy was heavily dependent on electricity. “The state is contributing 4.5% to the country’s GDP and the backbone of the state’s economy is electricity. Around 50% of the state’s population lives in urban areas. New industries being established too require power,” he said, while pointing out that Telangana was a leading rice producer in the country and 47% of its population was employed in the agriculture sector.
Diversion of power for other purposes to be examined
The new Discom was proposed to improve the quality of life of 47% of the population, he said and added that one third of power consumption in the state was agriculture consumption.
“No other state in the country has 30 lakh agriculture consumers. Telangana’s agriculture power consumption is the second highest in the country. The state also provides free electricity,” he said.
Musharraf, meanwhile, said that electricity, meant for farmers, is being diverted for other purposes. “Around 25,000 million units of power is being consumed every year in the name of agriculture. Whether the entire 25,000 million units are being used by farmers or some portion of it is being diverted for other purposes needs to be examined,” he said.
Stating that around 600 people die of electric shock every year, the CMD said that the new Discom was intended to meet the expectations of farmers like reliable infrastructure, quick replacement and repairs of transformers, normal voltage supply and sanction of new connections immediately.
“The new Discom promises better services and better quality power and focussed work,” he said.
“Energy supplied would be accounted for and the new Discoms would function with a targeted approach,” he said, adding that the three Discoms should be financially healthy and that the main objective of the reform is to enhance the services.
Reiterating that no metering would be done to any agriculture consumer, he clarified: “Accounting would be up to DTR only. Beyond that no metering would be done.”
‘AP, Maharashtra, Haryana too announced dedicated Discoms’
Musharraf also said that after Telangana, three other states, Maharashtra, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh, too announced separate Discoms for farmers.
“Agriculture consumers, lift irrigation schemes, Mission Bhagiratha, Hyderabad Metro water supply and municipal water connections would be reorganised from the existing two Discoms to the proposed new Discom,” he added.
He also said that once the power purchase agreements are allocated among the three Discoms, they would file the aggregate revenue requirements (ARRs) before the ERC.
“Around 2,000 employees would be transferred from the existing Discoms to the new Discom,” he said, while requesting the ERC to consider the application for grant of licence.
SPDCL CMD Jitesh Patil, his NPDCL counterpart Arun and Transco officials informed the ERC that they had no objection to the formation of the new Discom. Officials said that the ERC has received 34 objections on the proposed Discom.
