Hyderabad: In a major move aimed at overhauling Telangana’s power sector, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Wednesday announced the formation of a third electricity distribution company (Discom) to exclusively manage the free power schemes in the state. This includes free electricity for agriculture, the Gruha Jyothi scheme and free power to government schools, colleges and tribal areas.
Currently, Telangana has two Discoms — the Telangana Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TGSPDCL) and the Northern Power Distribution Company Limited (TGNPDCL). The new Discom, to function as a unified entity across the state, will focus on administering power supply under various government subsidy schemes, thereby reducing the financial burden on existing two Discoms.
The announcement was made during a high-level review meeting on the energy department held at the Chief Minister’s residence in Jubilee Hills. Deputy Chief Minister and energy minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, energy principal secretary Naveen Mittal and senior officials from GENCO, SPDCL, NPDCL, Singareni, REDCO, and others were present.
Revanth Reddy directed officials to implement comprehensive reforms to revamp the sector, reduce the mounting debt burden on Discoms, and improve their national ratings. He said that SPDCL and NPDCL should be tasked with handling only commercial electricity operations, while the new Discom would deal with subsidised power.
He stressed the need to restructure existing loans, which currently carry interest rates as high as 10 per cent, down to around six per cent to ease financial strain. He also directed officials to draw up a detailed plan to reduce the interest burden and suggested institutional reforms to bring long-term stability.
Further, the Chief Minister ordered the solarisation of all government offices, schools and colleges. He instructed district collectors to identify suitable government buildings for rooftop solar installations. Special focus will be on the Secretariat, where solar fencing and rooftop sheds will be installed to both generate power and resolve vehicle parking issues during summer.
Under the “Indira Solar Girijana Jalavikasam” scheme, the Chief Minister set a target to provide solar-powered pump sets to 2.10 lakh ST farmers across six lakh acres in tribal and agency areas within the next three years.
Calling for urgent implementation, Revanth Reddy asked departments to prepare action plans in coordination with Roads & Buildings and Energy departments.
The reforms are expected to bring much-needed relief to Telangana’s debt-ridden power sector and ensure better delivery of welfare-driven electricity schemes.
