AP groans under govt profligacy

HYDERABAD: With the power crisis worsening by the day and the state unwilling to re-think on its populist free power sop for farmers,power utilities say that a hike in the power tariff is inevitable once the budget session concludes on March 31.A hike in power tariff is very much on the cards if the government fails to clear the dues it owes power utilities by March 31, APTransco chairman and managing director Ajay Jain told TOI.
With day temperatures touching one degree above normal,Thursday saw the demand shoot up to 10,595 MW.The shortfall continued to hover around 1,100 MW.Power utilities officials apprehend that the demand will steadily increase from April onwards and peak by May-end.
The officials said free power and empty coffers are the two issues that will make the hike in power tariff inevitable.As of now,the seven-hour free power supplied to farmers accounts for 40 per cent of the total power consumed.In monetary terms,the power utilities run up a bill of Rs 292 crore per month on account of the free power, an official said.
The irony is that the power utilities are accumulating arrears by the crores in purchasing power and providing the subsidies.In 2009-10,we spent Rs 6,465 crore towards power purchase and subsidies.And despite earmarking Rs 6,500 crore in last years budget,the state released only Rs 100 crore.Thus the dues owed to the power utilities in 2009-10 is around Rs 7,000 crore.Of this,the dues piled up due to supply of free power till March this year is Rs 1,168 crore, said a senior official.
To make matters worse,the state has earmarked only Rs 4,500 crore in the budget for 2010-11.This amount will not even suffice to clear the arrears of last year, said APTransco sources.Another factor worrying the power utilities is that an amount of Rs 1,397 crore has to be collected from the domestic and industrial consumers as Fuel Surcharge Adjustment (FSA) charges.Either we are allowed to collect from the consumers or the government bear the burden.The state is doing neither, said the sources.
As a result,the consumer of power in the state (barring the farmer) will not only have to endure further power cuts in the summer days to come,but also be prepared to pay more for the erratic power that is being supplied.After the completion of the budget session,the state government is scheduled to submit to the AP Energy Regulatory Commission (APERC) its Annual Revenue Receipt (ARR).It will become clear after that whether the state will absorb the financial burden and bail out the power utilities or pass it on to the consumer in the form of a tariff hike.The financial situation of the state being very precarious,the latter is more likely,said the sources.
RTC conductors to go mobile
The bosses of AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) have conjured up a plan that on paper will make it the most tech-savvy in the country but will actually add to the costs of the cash-strapped corporation.APSRTCs new boss B Prasada Rao has now proposed to buy mobile phones for all bus conductors so that the movement of the vehicle can be tracked from depots and also by commuters.