'Telangana facing power shortage due its poor management'

Hyderabad: Despite drawing 100 million units of electricity more than the allocated quota, Telangana is facing power shortage of 8.4 million units due to lack of proper planning and management, the Andhra Pradesh government said on Tuesday.

Rebutting Telangana government's allegation that Andhra Pradesh was denying its rightful share of power, Communications Adviser of AP Parakala Prabhakar said here that on the appointed day (June 2) when the new state came into being, Telangana was having a shortfall of 5.6 million units of power compared to 22 million units in AP (13 districts).
The shortfall shot up to 35 million units in October in Telangana while it became nil in AP. The AP government purchased 900 MW of power at Rs 1,700 crore from different sources to overcome the shortage whereas the Telangana did nothing, Prabhakar said here at a press conference on Tuesday.
The Telangana government has so far utilised 100 million units power over and above its entitlement under the AP Reorganisation Act, he said. Can the Telangana chief minister deny this? the official asked, alleging that the Telangana government illegally generated 1307 million units of hydro power at Srisailam Left Power House, violating orders of Krishna River Management Board. All the power generated at Srisailam in the name of saving crops was in fact supplied to cities like Hyderabad. The Telangana government took no steps to stop farmers' suicides, Prabhakar alleged.
Telangana   also got additional power as we increased the plant load factor at our generating stations from 65 to 85 per cent. We have allowed this in the interest of Telugu people, he said. Refuting Telangana's allegation over sharing of power from Krishnapatnam thermal power station, Parakala said the relevant power purchase agreement (PPA) was referred to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC). No power could be shared with other states in the absence of a PPA.
Moreover, power generation has not started on a commercial basis at Krishnapatnam, he added. On Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's allegation that AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu threatened Hindujas over power supply from their thermal station at Visakhapatnam, Prabhakar said that the company had not even raise the matter with the CERC.