Hyderabad, March 11: The Telangana government has approved the establishment of a third Power Distribution company (discom) in the state, in addition to the existing two. The new entity, named Telangana Raitu Power Distribution Company Limited (TRPDCL), also referred to as Raitu Discom, will be responsible for supplying and distributing electricity to government-supported consumer categories.
On Wednesday, the Energy Department issued orders for the formation of the new discom, which will handle all agricultural connections, lift irrigation schemes, the Composite Protected Water Supply Scheme (CPWS)/Mission Bhagirath, and municipal water connections with separate distribution transformers.
IAS officer Musharraf Ali Farooqi has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the new discom, with four directors also selected for the entity. Currently, the state has two discoms: Northern Power Distribution Company Limited (NPDCL) and Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (SPDCL), covering 15 and 18 districts, respectively. Before this appointment, Farooqi served as the CMD of SPDCL.
In November of last year, the state cabinet approved the creation of a new discom to restructure power distribution in the state, aiming to address the financial and operational challenges faced by existing utilities. The poor financial condition of these discoms has affected the supply of free and subsidized electricity to Agriculture and other sectors, leading to unreliable and low-quality power across the state.
In December, it was announced that approximately 3 million services related to agricultural electricity connections, HMWS&SB, and lift irrigation schemes would fall under the jurisdiction of the new discom. The Energy Department has already issued orders to transfer 2,000 engineers and staff from existing power utilities to the third discom.
The establishment of the third discom is expected to enhance operational efficiency in the power sector and facilitate infrastructure development, aiding in the implementation of reforms in the power sector.