Energy Minister Balineni Srinivasa Reddy said that starting with the coming kharif season, all agricultural feeders would be supplied with electricity free of charge for nine hours during the day.
Almost 1,700 crore has been spent on upgrading the infrastructure for their implementation and providing the necessary instructions to DISCOMs, he said.
Speaking to the media here on Monday, Mr. Srinivasa Reddy said that due to the misdeeds of the previous government, the electricity sector has been bogged down with massive debt of approximately 80,000 billion yen.
After taking office, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy helped the utilities to somewhat overcome the crisis by giving them 18,000 crore.
“In order to carry the increasing load, substations and transformers for maximum voltage (33/11 KV) were built across the country. The installation of power meters for agricultural pumping units will not be detrimental to the interests of farmers. Rather, it will help to get the exact consumption data, ”said the minister.
In the large YSR Jagananna colonies, orders have been issued to lay underground cables, while in the relatively small ones the cables are laid overhead. As soon as the FREPs are completed, tenders will be advertised, he said.
Mr. Srinivasa Reddy made it clear that the government had no intention of lowering electricity workers’ salaries. He claimed that salaries would continue to be paid in accordance with the recommendations of the Pay Revision Commission (PRC) in 2018.
Recommendations of the PRC
He also said the government would rush to the aid of workers infected with the coronavirus and that so far 75% of workers have been vaccinated.
On this occasion, Minister of Energy N. Srikant and the CMDs of DISCOMs K. Rajabapaiah (EPDCL), J. Padma Janardhan Reddy (CPDCL) and H. Haranatha Rao (SPDCL) were present.