Jagan govt damaging Andhra's goodwill by taking wrong decisions on PPAs: Chandrababu Naidu

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu has criticised Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for damaging the goodwill of Andhra Pradesh over his decision of reviewing power purchasing agreements (PPAs) which were made under the TDP rule.

"The Jagan government has taken wrong decisions on PPAs. APGENCO and AP TRANSCO (energy companies) achieved top positions in the country during the TDP regime. In my rule, DISCOMs were made debt-free, and the state became a power surplus state. TDP had brought revolutionary changes in the power sector," Naidu said at a press conference here on Friday.

Earlier on September 24, Andhra Pradesh High Court had directed power generator companies opposing renegotiation of tariffs by the state to approach state electricity regulator.

"Andhra Pradesh High Court dismissed the argument of Power companies that the Government cannot review Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) and justified the government argument of going to the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) for review of the PPAs," a press release by the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister's Office (CMO) read.

The release added that the court directed the companies to raise their objections before Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC), which is directed to settle the issue within six months.

The court had also decided to ignore the earlier TDP's government order (GO) as the state administration itself is approaching the APERC.

The former chief minister further alleged that solar and wind power rates had come down during his rule and using them had proved highly beneficial to the state govt.

"TDP government's efforts made the reduction of power tariffs possible, the central government gave us incentives too. Now YSRCP govt is making allegations on our tenure with false records," Naidu said.

TDP chief further accused Reddy of giving wrong information to the central government and of not heeding to the words of either the centre or the court.