Minister for Energy Gottipati Ravi Kumar on Monday blamed the YSRCP government for the ongoing infrastructure crisis in the State’s power sector. He said that the former administration failed to utilise the Central government schemes and mismanaged the energy sector, resulting in a heavy burden on the people.

He along with Minister for Social Welfare Dr. Dola Sree Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy laid the foundation stone of the 33\11 KV substation at Kalluru village in Kurichedu mandal of Prakasam district. The substation, sanctioned at a cost of ₹3.80 crore, is part of the Coalition government’s efforts to strengthen the power supply network in high-demand areas, the Energy Minister said.

Mr. Gottipati also laid the foundation stone for another 33/11 KV substation in Darsi and participated in ‘Suparipalana Lo Tholi Adugu’ campaign. He highlighted that the construction of substations is being undertaken to meet the growing electricity consumption needs and announced that 12 substations have been approved across the combined Prakasam district.

Reiterating the government’s commitment to the welfare of farmers, he said that 75,000 agricultural power connections have already been sanctioned, with ₹2.60 lakh being spent on each connection. He asserted that the Coalition government under the leadership of Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu is taking corrective steps to rebuild the power infrastructure that was neglected in the YSRCP regime.

The Minister also urged citizens to make use of Central government schemes like PM Suryagarh and PM Kusum. He encouraged households to install rooftop solar panels to reduce electricity bills and ease the load on the conventional power grid. He directed the officials to coordinate with bankers to ensure at least 10,000 Suryagarh connections are facilitated in each constituency.

Criticising the YSRCP government, he said that it not only ignored these beneficial schemes but also increased power tariffs nine times, putting a significant burden on the public. “The Coalition government has not hiked power charges even once since assuming office. The substations are being constructed in rural areas to resolve low voltage issues arising due to high load,” he added.

He reaffirmed that the Coalition government is committed to providing 24-hour quality electricity to every household and farming community. He concluded by stating that as long as Chandrababu Naidu is in the office, there is no intention to increase electricity tariffs, and all efforts will be made to restore and strengthen the systems weakened under the previous administration.