25% fitment to power employees

Amaravati: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has agreed to give 25 per cent fitment to the electricity department employees as per the new Pay Revision Commission recommendations.

Speaking to reporters at the Secretariat on Thursday, energy minister Kala Venkata Rao said the decision would benefit 58,036 employees including 26,493 pensioners. The total commitment from APGenco, APTransco, APSPDCL and APEPDCL is Rs 3,122.83 crore and the wage revision would put additional burden of Rs 860.01 crore on the government.  

The leaders of various unions of electricity employees met Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at the Secretariat on Thursday and thanked him for implementing the PRC recommendations. The Chief Minister said the employees who have worked for less than 15 years with the government, must also be given increments. 

Stating that the state’s power sector reforms were a model for the country, Naidu asked the staff to work towards further reducing transmission distribution losses, which are currently at 9.7 per cent. 

“Work towards integrating Smart Power Grids into every local substation, and use hybrid models using solar, wind energy and power storage facility,” he added. 

“Even though we were left with a large revenue and power deficit during the state’s bifurcation, now we have surplus power. Our power sector must continue to act as a model for the country and compete with private companies too,” Naidu said.