Hyderabad consumes more power than N-E states

Hyderabad: Electricity needs of the City of Pearls -- Hyderabad -- has touched an all-time high this summer which is more than the seven north-eastern states consumed together. Power consumption has touched 3,276 mw as against 2,950 mw last summer.

Telangana Transco and Genco Chairman and Managing Director D Prabhakar Rao said that the total consumption of power in the north-eastern states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura was less than 2,850 mw, whereas in Hyderabad alone, power consumption crossed 3,000 mw this year.

To meet the power demand, the official said that required transmission network has been developed, including installation of 400 KV sub-stations in the Greater Hyderabad limits. The Transmission corporation is buying power from different sources at reasonable prices to bridge the gap between demand and supply, he said.

The official said that the LT (domestic) power connections have been increased to 47.8 lakh in 2019 from 37.8 lakh in 2014 by registering 27 per cent increase. In the HT (commercial and industrial) category, the total number of power connections were 7,015. In 2014, it was 5,000 only. The Discoms were prepared to meet the power demand for all sectors, including agriculture to which 24-hour power supply is being provided free of cost every season.

To improve efficiency in power supply and deliver of consumer-friendly services, TSSPDCL Chairman and Managing Director Raghuma Reddy said that pre- paid meters will be made available on a large-scale this year.

The pre-paid meters will be fitted in all government offices from June 1 onwards. Already, 11,000 meters were installed in the domestic sector and 2,000 meters were made available this season. The official claimed that Telangana stood first in the use of prepaid meters in the country.