Anantapur: Consumers up in arms over inflated power bills

Anantapur/Puttaparthi: Power consumers in the erstwhile Anantapur district are up in arms against the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy for the inflated power charges that are imposed on them much against the assurance he gave to people that the YSRCP if elected to power will not hike power tariff.

During the past couple of years, power consumers were being asked to pay additional amounts under revised charges for the power consumed in the past for which normal charges were said to be paid. The question is how one can be asked to pay revised charges for bills paid long back.

“There is meaning if our future tariff is revised but not for past paid bills. These amounts are now being adjusted by including them with current power bill,” the consumers point out

Power consumers living in rented houses ironically are being asked to pay the additional amounts for the period they were not tenants in the house. Strictly speaking the owner of the house is supposed to pay the amount but the present tenant is asked to pay for power charges he did not consume. Of course many gullible tenant’s simply pay the bill with no questions asked. The owners tell them if they don’t pay their power supply will be disconnected.

Many consumers who do not understand the intricacies of the cooking of power bills by AP Transco simply pay the bill like a dumb lamb. The consequences of not paying the power bills are far more miserable than paying unwarranted power bills.

The basic pressure on the government departments to mop up resources to pay for government pet schemes is one reason for departments to find new avenues of revenue generation. True up charges, adjustment tariff and other charges are levied on consumers for the period 2021 and 2022.

So an additional revenue of 200 crore is raised in a span of 8 months or so.

Rajendra, engaged in petty business says he is served a power bill with an obligation to pay adjustment charges of Rs 300. Another power consumer Akash from the city says that his power bill jumped from Rs 856 to Rs 1,670.

A cross section of power consumers demanded the Chief Minister to bear the additional power charges as the latter has not done anything for the middle class who are the real and honest taxpayers.

Why can’t he give subsidised power to middle class when he is giving innumerable freebies to the so called BPL families, they ask.

AP Transco SE Surendra told The Hans India that the adjustment charges are aimed at stemming the huge losses incurred in power generation. There is no way for the discoms to cover their losses and revenue deficit.