Under the leadership of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, the state of Telangana has evolved from facing acute power shortages to becoming entirely self-sufficient in power during the last nine years. This accomplishment is being commemorated as part of the ‘Telangana Vidyuthu Vijayotsavam’ on Formation Day.
Telangana had a total installed capacity of 7,778 MW in 2014 and a power shortfall of 2,700 MW. However, the state was able to turn the situation around through deliberate initiatives. Telangana had become a power surplus state by 2019-20, with a contracted installed power capacity of 18,567 MW.
Previously, industrial customers faced up to three days of power outages every week, while residential and commercial customers faced up to six hours of power outages, including during peak hours. Despite high demand, the state government now successfully supplies continuous electricity supply for household, commercial, and industrial demands.
Telangana is the only state in the country that offers farmers free power 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The state government has offered a subsidy of Rs 36,890 crore for free power in agriculture during 2014-15. The government has also made significant improvements in the transmission and distribution network, totaling over Rs 39,321 crore, resulting in higher power output and a more resilient distribution system. This includes building substations, installing power transformers and distribution transformers, and so on.
Telangana’s power demand has increased significantly, with a peak power demand of 15,497 MW reported on March 30, the highest thus far. The state’s per capita electricity consumption has also climbed from 1,196 units in 2014 to 2,166 units per year, which is 69.40% higher than the national average of 1,255 units.
Subsidies and free power initiatives are provided by the state government, including free electricity up to 101 units per month for SC and ST users, free power up to 250 units for hair-cutting salons and laundry shops, and subsidies for agricultural and residential consumers. In the fiscal year 2022-23 alone, distribution companies received a subsidy of Rs 11,500 crore to support free electricity delivery to agricultural users and subsidised power supply to household consumers.
Telangana has also achieved considerable strides in renewable energy, particularly in the generation of solar energy. The state presently has a contractual capacity of 5,741 MW in solar energy and a total renewable capacity of 6,151 MW, a significant increase from the 74 MW it had when it was formed a decade ago.
The tremendous achievement made by Telangana in the power sector has piqued the interest of authorities from other states, who are studying and adopting the systems introduced by the Telangana government. Telangana acts as a model for other states in making rapid progress in the power sector in a short period of time.
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