Hyderabad June (Puvvada Nagendra Kumar Punnami District Reporter) The state government has given good news to the employees, artisans and pensioners working in the power sector of Telangana. Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka has approved a 1.621 percent increase in DA (Dearness Allowance). This increase will come into effect from January 1 this year. With this decision, the DA of power employees has increased from 17.651 percent to 19.272 percent. 70,804 employees, artisans and pensioners working in various power companies in the state will benefit from this increase. The DA increase will put an additional financial burden of about Rs. 9.35 crore per month on the government. Bhatti Vikramarka announced this decision at a review meeting held with energy department officials at the GENCO headquarters in Vidyut Soudha. On this occasion, reviewing the performance of the power sector, he congratulated the officers and staff for continuing supply without any interruption despite the record-high demand for power this summer. He said that the peak demand in the state was 18,548 MW on March 27, while the maximum electricity consumption was 341 million units on March 13. However, he said that uninterrupted power supply is a testament to the capacity of the power companies. He said that officials are estimating that the demand for electricity is likely to increase significantly in the coming decade. He revealed that the peak demand in the state is likely to reach 34,137 MW and the annual electricity consumption is likely to reach 1,52,626 million units by 2035-36. He instructed the officials to prepare long-term plans for the expansion of infrastructure, establishment of new projects and modernization works in line with the growing needs. He also advised the staff of SPDCL, NPDCL and TRANSCO to be vigilant so that there is no disruption in power supply due to heavy rains and strong winds during the upcoming monsoon season. He instructed that repairs should be carried out immediately if any faults arise and uninterrupted power supply should be provided. Special Chief Secretary of the Department of Energy Naveen Mittal, Principal Secretary of the Department of Finance Sandeep Kumar Sultania, Singareni CMD Jyoti Buddhaprakash, Transco CMD Krishna Bhaskar, Genco CMD Harish, NPDCL CMD Varun Reddy, SPDCL CMD Jitesh Patil and others participated in this meeting.
