Government’s claims on ‘true down’ charges misleading, says CPI(M)

The CPI(M) has criticised the NDA government for its “misleading propaganda” on power tariffs.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, party State Secretariat member Ch. Babu Rao, along with State Committee member D. Kashinath, accused the government of falsely projecting the true-down on power tariffs, while continuing to recover massive adjustment charges from the public.

Mr. Babu Rao said for the period between 2019 and 2024, power distribution companies had proposed to the APERC an additional ₹12,771 crore as true-up charges. Of this, ₹8,274 crore, nearly 64%, was rejected by the regulatory after finding the calculations to be incorrect. The ERC, however, allowed recovery of ₹497 crore. While the government claimed it would bear this burden, the CPI(M) leader alleged that consumers continue to be affected through other charges.

Mr. Babu Rao alleged that over the past 18 months, the government had imposed electricity-related burden amounting to nearly ₹24,000 crore in various forms. Additional fuel and power purchase cost adjustment (FPPCA) charges worth ₹15,485 crore for 2022–23 and 2023–24 had been ordered, with consumers paying an extra 40 paise per unit every month, he said.

andhra He accused the coalition government of following the same path as the previous YSRCP regime and shielding corruption in the power sector. He demanded the immediate withdrawal of adjustment charges, suspension of prepaid smart meters, rollback of enhanced electricity duty, and a probe into alleged irregular power purchase agreements.

Stating that the party was ready for an open debate on the power tariff issues, Mr. Babu Rao said the CPI(M) would continue its fight and stand by with consumers.