Minister for Energy Gottipati Ravi Kumar has accused former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy of reaching a new low with his “Tughlaq-like actions.” He claimed that Jagan, who had earlier proposed an increase in electricity charges, is now protesting against the charges he once supported. The Minister said that Jagan’s poor decisions during his tenure burdened the people of Andhra Pradesh.
Minister Ravi Kumar reminded that when the Telugu Desam Party handed over power to YSR Congress in 2019, Andhra Pradesh was a power surplus state. However, in just five years, Jagan’s government turned it into a power deficit state due to wrong decisions and corruption. He alleged that Jagan cancelled power purchase agreements, threatened solar and wind energy investors, and drove them out of the state, resulting in a loss of 10,000 MW of renewable energy.
The Minister also accused Jagan of ruining APGenco, the state’s power generation company. He claimed that to address the power deficit, Jagan’s government purchased electricity at much higher prices—between Rs 8 and Rs 14 per unit—when it could have been bought at Rs 5 per unit. These costly purchases, he said, were made to benefit Jagan’s close associates and to earn commissions.
Minister Ravi Kumar pointed out that the true-up charges approved by the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) during Jagan’s tenure have become a heavy burden on the people. These charges amounted to Rs 3,082 crore for 2021-22, Rs 6,073 crore for 2022-23, and Rs 9,412 crore for 2023-24.
He explained that APERC was supposed to issue the final order on the true-up charges within 90 days of filing.
DISCOMs had filed the charges for Q4 of 2022-23 in May 2023, meaning the order should have come by August. Similarly, for 2023-24, the charges were filed in May 2024. However, the approval was delayed to avoid a backlash before the elections. Ultimately, these charges were approved, adding to the financial burden on the citizens.
Minister Ravi Kumar called Jagan’s protests against electricity tariff hikes hypocritical. “Jagan created this crisis with his policies, and now he is staging protests to mislead the people. What else can this be called but a Tughlaq act?” he said. The Minister assured the public that the current government is working to repair the damage caused by the previous administration and is focused on ensuring transparency and accountability in the power sector.
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