Govt.’s claim of reduction in power tariff deceptive, alleges CPI(M)

The CPI(M) has alleged that the claims of the government that it has reduced the electricity burden are misleading. The party has challenged Energy Minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar and NDA leaders to an open debate on power tariffs and smart meters.

Addressing the media on Wednesday, party State Secretariat member Ch. Babu Rao accused the government led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu of misleading the public. He said while the government claimed to have reduced power purchase costs by 30 paise per unit, from ₹5.20 to ₹4.90, this benefit had not reached consumers. Instead, he alleged that nearly ₹20,000 crore had been collected over the past two years through various adjustment charges, compared to a relief of only ₹923 crore.