Newly created States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were heading towards a major confrontation over sharing of electricity as the Government of AP has decided to cancel the Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) threatening an acute power shortage in Telangana.
The AP Government has taken a view that the power generated in a State should be used in that State only. This can benefit Andhra Pradesh as it will get additional 462 MW thermal power and also give control over 2,810 MW of hydro-power generation capacity. Telangana on the other hand will lose 615 MW power.
At the behest of the Chandrababu Naidu Government, the AP Power Generation Corporation has written a letter to the State electricity regulatory commission to cancel the existing PPAs governing the supply of power to both the States. These PPAs were entered into when the State was united.
With the Government of Telangana taking a strong objection to the decision of the Naidu Government, the dispute was threatening to take a serious turn.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, who reviewed the power situation with the officials demanded the AP Government to immediately withdraw its letter.
Strongly condemning the decision, Telangana Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao said that his Government will not allow the decision to come into effect. “Naidu took the decision knowing fully well that it will aggravate the power crisis in Telangana and lead to crippling of industries”. Naidu has done this to scare away the industrialists from Telangana, he added.
He warned that if the Naidu Government insists on its decision, then Telangana will take retaliatory action in other areas. Rao said that Naidu’s action was against the provisions of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. “AP Chief Minister and other Ministers also stay in Hyderabad. Don’t they need powerIJ” asked Rao. When Hyderabad continues to be a joint capital of the two States, such a decision by the AP Government was unprincipled.
The issue was likely to reach the doorsteps of the Central Government. KCR, who will be in New Delhi on June 26, was planning to take up the issue of arbitrary and one sided decisions of the AP Government with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
KCR was taking an all party delegation along with him to raise the issue of merger of parts of Khammam district with Andhra Pradesh as part of Polavaram project. Sources said that KCR was also unhappy on the issue of allocation of IAS and IPS officers to his State and wants the Centre to take corrective measures. This move was likely to worsen the power situation in Telangana which was already reeling under the massive powercuts, adding to the woes of the people at a time when monsoon was playing truant and temperatures continued to be high.
Telangana State Congress leaders have also condemned Naidu’s action. State Congress chief Ponnala lakshmaiah termed the decision as “unfortunate and hasty”.
“This smacks of vindictiveness,” he said. He alleged that Naidu was acting against the federal spirit of the country. He warned that if the PPAs don’t continue, it will create new problems for both the States.
The issue has come to fore at a time when the AP Assembly’s first session after bifurcation was starting in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the AP Electricity Regulatory Commission has also raised the question regarding its own status vis-à-vis the two States following bifurcation and a host of other issues. In an advisory to both the Governments of AP and Telangana, the commission sought clarification on issues to facilitate the division of power sector between the two States seamlessly.
Referring to the fact that the AP Reorganisation Act had specified the existing PPAs with the power distribution companies will continue, APERC pointed out that the PPAs had not clearly allocated power to the individual companies. Under the PPAs, power generating companies allocate powers to the Power Generation Corporation which in turn allocate the same to the individual companies. Now that the two States have separate Gencos and distribution companies, the power allocation has become a complicated issue.