No hike in power charges: Minister

Srikakulam: There is no proposal for imposing a hike in power charges in the state, said Minister for Energy Kimidi Kala Venkata Rao. He inaugurated 33/11 KV substation at Lolugu village in Ponduru mandal on Tuesday which was constructed at a cost of Rs 1.50 crore.

Speaking on the occasion, Venkat Rao recalled that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was instrumental in introducing reforms in the power sector and he started the reforms in 1998 At that time, power transmission losses were put at 36 per cent but now they were reduced to only nine per cent because of effective reforms.

“We are planning to store power for future usage and works are going on to realise it in Srikakulam and Nellore districts on an experimental basis the Minister explained. MP K Rammohan Naidu, Government Whip Kuna Ravi Kumar lauded the efforts of the Chief Minister and Energy Minister Kala Venkata Rao for initiation of result oriented and productive reforms in the power sector to supply sans interruption even during natural calamities.

District Collector K Dhanunjaya Reddy, APEPDCL superintending engineer Datti Satya Narayana, Ponduru mandal special officer and joint director of animal husbandry department Metta Venkateswarlu also spoke.