The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Power cut in towns to continue

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Wednesday, Apr 04, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Power cut in towns to continue

Special Correspondent

New projects kept idle for want of gas, says Transco CMD

Rachel Chatterjee

HYDERABAD: Rachel Chatterjee, CMD, AP Transco, has ruled out possibility of lifting the present power cut on villages and towns. She said one of the many reasons for power shortage was that a 1,500 MW installed capacity available from the newly completed projects was kept idle for want of gas.

Speaking at "Consumers Day" celebrations organised at the Institution of Engineers here on Tuesday by the AP Electricity Regulatory Commission, she expressed inability to enhance power generation at Srisailam as water in the dam would have to be preserved for summer.

She said the grievances of consumers were now solved online. As many as 336 customer service centres were functioning in the State, 3221 of them in rural areas.

K. Swaminathan, chairman, APERC, said the power sector reforms were launched to help consumers. With a view making the utilities answerable to consumers, the ERC had prescribed standards (citizen's charters) for them and broadened the scope of public say in tariff proposals by taking hearings to districts and allowing e-filing.

K. Balaram Reddy, former chairman of erstwhile APSEB, said it was the responsibility of the utilities to reduce transmission/distribution losses to bring down the tariff rates. A. K. Goel, Principal Secretary, Energy, suggested that ERC appoint third party observers to assess the performance of utilities.

G. Nageswara Rao, Commissioner, Civil Supplies, offered to educate power consumers on their rights, using the 4,300 consumer clubs in the State. S. Suryaprakasa Rao, secretary, ERC, made a presentation on consumers rights and Electricity Act of 2003.

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