TS waiting for final report on power sharing

The Telangana Government has informed the Assembly that its struggle to get due share of power from Lower Sileru Project, which was denied by Andhra Pradesh, will continue. It promises to fight till the A.P. Government provides the scheduled generation and share of both the states to the Southern Region Load Despatch Centre, the apex body to ensure integrated operation of power system in the southern region.

The State Government will continue to mount pressure on the Centre over the issue though the high-level committee headed by Central Electricity Authority chairperson Neeraja Mathur that went into the power conflict between the two States was yet to give its final report, Irrigation and Legislative Affairs Minister T. Harish Rao said in response to a question by Congress MLA Puvvada Ajay Kumar.

Telangana too fails to schedule

Mr. Rao accused the Andhra Pradesh Government of not determining Telangana’s share of power from Lower Sileru though the committee had ordered the same in its interim report. The final report was due by December 31 last, but it has not been delivered yet. In the meantime, the Telangana Government did not schedule power due to Andhra Pradesh from the power houses on Nagarjunasagar and Srisailam Left Bank canals. The entire output, including 815 MW from Nagarjunasagar, was claimed by Telangana.

He said that power sharing from Lower Sileru complex, which includes 4 units x115 MW at Lower Sileru, 1 x 25 at Donkarai and 250 MW at Upper Sileru, aggregating to 725 MW and Krishnapatnam, Hinduja and Kothagudem power projects was recommended by bifurcation law but the Andhra Pradesh government defied the legislation. The Telangana government will claim it at any cost.

Earlier, Mr. Ajay Kumar wondered if the State Government intended to forfeit its right of sharing power from Lower Sileru Project because it apparently did not take any steps. The doubt was strengthened by recent comment of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao that the State Government will not buy power from A.P.

He said the question of Telangana’s share of power from Lower Sileru was pending with the Godavari river management board since December 30 when the board met and expressed helplessness to resolve the issue. The issue was now with the Central Electricity Authority and the Central Water Commission.