TG govt to slap cases against fake news on power cuts

Though there are no power cuts across the State, false information is being circulated on social media. The State will face huge losses if the industrialists believe this bad propaganda and go away worrying about their production capacity here - Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Dy CM & Minister for Finance & Energy

Hyderabad: The Telangana government is providing 100 per cent quality power to both households and industries. If the residents or industrialists are still facing any power cuts due to some issue, they can directly contact the chiefs of the State power utilities or office of Energy department, says Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, who also holds the portfolios of Finance and Energy.

In an exclusive interaction with Bizz Buzz, he said that the officials of Northern Power Distribution Company of Telangana Limited (TSNPDCL) and Southern Power Distribution Company of Telangana Limited (TSSPDCL) were directed to file cases against those who are creating a panic among the people by spreading false information on power situation only to tarnish the image of the new government.

“I am sure that there is no shortage of power in the State. If there is any power interruption due to some reason, bring it to our notice and we are ready to rectify the situation immediately. I have seen a lot of buzz about power cuts on social media. When we verified each post, we found all of them to be fake during the inquiry. I was forced to suggest to the CMDs of TSNPDCL and TSNPDCL to file cases on them,” Bhatti said.

“Though there are no power cuts across the State, the power supply may get interrupted in few areas due to annual maintenance for a particular period of time with prior announcement. However, false information is being circulated on social media. The State will face huge losses if the industrialists believe this bad propaganda and go away worrying about their production capacity here,” he added.

The Deputy CM further revealed, “for the first time in the history of Telangana, the discoms have registered the highest peak power demand of 15,673 MW a day during March 2024. As we said earlier, the government is preparing plans for power supply escalation in future. We have discussed and set a target to meet the demand of up to 29,000-30,000 MW a day by FY2029-30.”

Commenting on the allegations of BRS leaders on not purchasing the power from the NTPC, he said: “If we sign a power purchase agreement (PPA) with NTPC today, it will take at least 60 months to start supplying. Moreover, there will be a huge burden on the consumers. Currently, we are procuring the power at less than Rs10 per unit from power exchange, against Rs20 per unit during the BRS regime.”

“The previous government had signed a PPA with NTPC for only 1,600-MW power supply at the time of bifurcation. If it had made an agreement for 4,000MW, there would not be any shortage today. Bhadradri and Yadadri power projects were constructed by using public money and taking loans only to divert the funds. Because of this, there is a huge burden on the State finances at present,” the Deputy CM alleged. “Over the next 25 years, power supply would cost around Rs5.59 per unit. It may also come down with green energy initiatives. The world is going towards alternative power sources including wind energy, solar energy, bioenergy, nuclear energy, and others. But the BRS leaders have never made any thought on that. As the Election Code is in place, we can’t announce the new energy policy now,” he said.