Sajjala blames TDP for power tariff hike

Tariffs remained unchanged since YSRCP came to power, he says

The increase in power tariff is a result of the poor decisions taken by the previous government, besides increasing expenditure, Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, Adviser (Public Affairs) has said.

Addressing the media here on Thursday, Mr. Ramakrishna Reddy said the power tariff had remained unchanged since YSRCP came to power in 2019, and condemned the Opposition’s “false propaganda” in this regard.

Due to the decisions taken by the TDP government, we had to increase the power charges slightly, without burdening the poor, he said.

The previous government had left a pile of debts with erratic power purchases, and the YSRCP government had been paying off all the debts, he said.

Mr. Ramakrishna Reddy said the TDP government had left a debt of about ₹85,000 crore, including the pending true-up charges. Besides, it had gone ahead with “irregular PPAs.” The power tariff had been hiked thrice during the TDP term despite having surplus supplies, he said.

He said no government would want to burden people, and Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy always stood by the people, he said. “Due to unavoidable circumstances, the government had to increase the power tariff nominally,” he said, and urged people to cooperate with the government.