Hyderabad, March 11 (IANS) The Telangana government on Wednesday approved the formation of a third power distribution company (discom) in addition to the existing two discoms in the state.
The new company is named the Telangana Rythu Power Distribution Company Limited (TGRPDCL), also referred to as Rythu Discom, and it will handle electricity supply and distribution to consumer categories supported by the government.
The Energy Department on Wednesday issued orders forming the new discom, which will be responsible for electricity supply and distribution to all the agricultural connections, lift irrigation schemes, composite protected water supply scheme (CPWS)/Mission Bhagiratha, the Hyderabad Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) and municipal water connections with separate distribution transformers.
IAS officer Musharraf Ali Faruqui has been appointed Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the new discom.
The GO also named four directors for the new entity.
The state currently has two discoms – Northern Power Distribution Company Limited (NPDCL) and Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (SPDCL). They cover 15 and 18 districts respectively. Before his transfer, Faruqui was serving as CMD of the latter.
It was in November last year that the state Cabinet had approved the formation of a new discom to restructure electricity distribution in the state. The move is aimed at addressing the financial and operational challenges of the existing utilities.
The poor financial health of the discoms is attributed to free and subsidised power supply to agriculture and other sections. This is believed to have prevented them from ensuring a reliable and quality power supply across the state.
In December, it was announced that nearly 30 lakh services related to government-paid agricultural electricity connections, HMWSSB and lift irrigation schemes will come under the jurisdiction of the new discom.
The Energy Department has already issued orders for the transfer of 2,000 engineers/staff from the existing power utilities to the third discom.
The creation of the third discom is expected to improve operational efficiency of the electricity sector and facilitate infrastructure development. This will also help in implementing power sector reforms.
–IANS
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