Process for establishment of third Discom begins

HYDERABAD

The State Government issued the order on Wednesday, initiating the process for setting up of the third Discom – Telangana Rythu Power Distribution Company Ltd (TGRPDCL). The company has already named the Chairman and Managing Director of the new Discom by shifting Musharraf Ali Faruqui from Southern Discom (TGSPDCL) to the new one.

According to the government order, the new Discom, to be called Rythu Discom, will also engage in electricity supply and distribution, purchase, sale, import, export, transportation and trading of electrical energy, operation of the distribution system – including finalization, billing and collection of tariffs.

It will also sign any agreements for execution of such works for categories like agriculture, lift irrigation schemes (LIS), composite protected water supply schemes/Mission Bhagiratha, Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) and municipal water connections with separate distribution transformers (LT VI-B).

Apart from providing power supply to the listed categories, the new Discom will also be involved in power procurement as per allocated power purchase agreement (PPA) share, commissioning of new agricultural connections, operation and maintenance of assets (DTRs and LT lines), lift irrigation, DTR metering for CPWS and HMWSSB and accounting of consumed energy through consumer metering, regulatory filing and compliance and ensuring reliable and quality power supply to its consumers.

The government has also appointed Directors for the new Discom: V. Tirupathi Reddy (Finance), P. Krishna Reddy (Revenue and Legal), V. Mohan Rao (Projects) and N. Narasimhulu (Operations, Personnel, Energy Audit and others). The operational and administrative manpower required for TGRPDCL will be in matters of assignment, recruitment and outsourcing.

The new Discom would become operational from April 1 and its office would be located in Block B of TGSPDCL corporate office in Mint Campus for now. The government aims to ensure focused management of electricity supply to the agricultural sector, improve service efficiency and provide better and more reliable services to farmers across the state.