13 hours ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
Telangana Dy CM Bhatti Vikramarka announces 2 per cent DA hike for power employees
HYDERABAD: Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Saturday announced a nearly 2% increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) for Power department employees.
He said the state government, giving priority to employee welfare, has decided to enhance the DA by 1.944% for power employees and pensioners. The revised DA will benefit 71,417 employees and pensioners across the state.
The DA has been raised from 14.074% to 16.018%, with retrospective effect from January this year. The revision will impose an additional monthly burden of Rs 11.193 crore on power utilities.
Addressing employees of the power department at Praja Bhavan, the deputy chief minister said the revised DA would also apply to artisans, along with power employees and pensioners.
'Telangana should emerge as a guiding force in the power sector for the entire country. The state government is moving ahead with a well-structured strategy to achieve this. Electricity has become as essential to industrial production in today's competitive world as air is to life,' he said.
Peak power demand
Referring to demand trends, Vikramarka pointed out that in March 2023, when the BRS was in power, the peak power demand stood at 15,000 MW. 'After the Congress assumed office in December 2023, the demand rose to 17,162 MW by March 2025, an increase of over 2,000 MW. Despite this rise, the government and power employees had ensured uninterrupted and quality power supply,' he said.
Vikramarka said the state anticipates a further steep rise in demand. Citing a report by a central agency, he stated that Telangana's peak power demand is projected to reach 26,299 MW by 2029–30 and 33,773 MW by 2034–35. The deputy chief minister added that the government was planning ahead to boost power generation capacity to meet these future requirements.
He said that following the formation of the Congress government, the Green Energy Policy-2025 had been introduced, targeting the production of 20,000 MW of green power by 2029-30.
He urged the power sector workforce to be prepared to face future challenges and reiterated that the government and employees together formed an ideal working partnership.
