Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has said there was a need to bring a comprehensive national power policy to ensure quality, uninterrupted power supply to all sectors of consumers. Though not even half of the total power generation capacity in the country is being used, several parts of India were living without electricity and power cuts are a frequent occurrence all over the country, he said.
The Chief Minister’s observation came at a meeting with Power Finance Corporation (PFC) Chairman Rajiv Sharma, who met with Chandrasehkhar Rao at Pragati Bhavan here on Sunday. The PFC Chairman, over three days, visited several power plants in the State and the Kaleshwaram irrigation project.
It was during a discussion between the two at a meeting which was also attended by TS Genco and Transco CMD D Prabhakar Rao, Chief Advisor to the State Government Rajiv Sharma, Chief Secretary SK Joshi, CMO Principal Secretary S Narsing Rao, and Secretaries Smita Sabharwal and Bhupal Reddy that the issue of making most of the installed power generation capacity in the country came up.
Chandrashekhar Rao recalled the severe power crisis that Telangana was staring at when the State was formed and how the power deficit was turning into a hindrance to the State’s development. “We decided that unless we solve the power problem, the State cannot progress and adopted a comprehensive plan to set the power sector in order. Within six months, we lifted power cuts,” he said.