No question of installing smart meters on farm pump sets: Telangana Dy CM Bhatti
Hyderabad, Sept 11 (TNT): Telangana Deputy Chief Minister and Energy Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Friday categorically ruled out installation of smart meters on agricultural motors and pump sets, assuring farmers that the government would not change its stand on the issue.
Speaking in the Legislative Council, Bhatti said there was no provision in the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) mandating installation of meters on agricultural pump sets.
“There is absolutely no question of installing meters on agricultural pump sets. I am saying this categorically. I give a 100 per cent assurance to the farmers,” he said.
He appealed to political parties and others not to create unnecessary fears and misconceptions among farmers by claiming that meters would be installed on agricultural motors.
Bhatti said the previous BRS government had entered into a tripartite agreement with the Centre under the UDAY scheme. The agreement, signed by the Telangana government, Union Ministry of Power and Telangana DISCOMs, provided for 100 per cent Distribution Transformer (DT) metering by June 30, 2017, and installation of smart meters for certain high-consumption consumers, excluding agricultural consumers.
He said the present government would not go even one step beyond the commitments made under the UDAY agreement and reiterated that free power to farmers would continue.
The Deputy Chief Minister said the RDSS works being undertaken in the state were aimed at strengthening the power supply network and were not intended to install meters on agricultural pump sets.
The works include upgrading substations, transformers and power lines and introducing technologies such as SCADA, fault passage indicators, sectionalizers and auto-reclosers. The Centre is providing a 60 per cent grant under RDSS, while the remaining 40 per cent is being borne by the state government, he said.
Bhatti said Telangana recorded a peak electricity demand of 19,543 MW on September 9, the highest in the state’s history. The state’s peak power demand is projected to reach 24,624 MW by 2029-30 and 34,137 MW by 2034-35, according to projections by the Central Electricity Authority.
He said the government was working to expand power generation and transmission capacity to meet the growing requirements of agriculture, industry, services, software and data centres.
The Deputy Chief Minister said Telangana has around 29 lakh agricultural pump sets and the state Finance Department pays about Rs 14,000 crore annually to the Energy Department towards their electricity costs.
To reduce the cost of power, the government is undertaking solarisation of agricultural pump sets of farmers who voluntarily opt for the programme, with the entire expenditure being borne by the state, he said.
He said farmers who do not opt for solarisation would continue to receive free power under the existing arrangement.
Bhatti said battery storage and pumped-storage systems would be introduced in the future to enable surplus solar power generated during the day to be stored and used at night.
He said the government was also preparing plans to expand pumped-storage capacity in Telangana, noting that the state had fallen behind neighbouring states in this area.
Explaining the sharp rise in electricity consumption, Bhatti attributed the increase partly to drought-like conditions and the impact of El Niño, which had affected rainfall and groundwater levels.
He said agricultural electricity consumption had consequently risen sharply, with overall state demand increasing from around 9,000-10,000 MW earlier to nearly 19,000-20,000 MW.
He said the government was prepared to purchase power irrespective of the cost to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply to people and farmers in the state.
TNT TS
