Ap Farmer Pays Lowest Tariff

The Andhra farmer pays the lowest power tariff in the country. While the cost of supply of power to the agricultural pumpsets by the Transmission Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (APTransco) works out to Rs 2.38, the power utility actually charges the farmer a mere 31 paise per unit.

On the other hand, the farmer in Uttar Pradesh, a very backward state, pays Rs 2.98 per unit for the power he consumes for his pumpset. This is probably the highest in the country.

Among the neighbouring states, the farmer in Karnataka pays 45 paise per unit, in Tamil Nadu it is 50 paise, while in Maharashtra it is 90 paise and 50 paise in Madhya Pradesh.

 

According to data made available by the APTransco, the total cost of power supply to the agricultural sector in Andhra Pradesh during the financial year 2001-02 worked out to Rs 2,764 crore.

The state government provided the power transmission utility a subsidy of Rs 2,470 crore in that year to bridge the huge gap between the cost of power supply and the revenue it derived from the farming community.