Power is the foundation of modern economic development. Industry cannot function without reliable electricity. Agriculture in a region without canal irrigation, like Telangana, depends entirely on electric pump sets to draw groundwater. The availability, cost and reliability of electricity determines whether a factory opens or closes, whether a farmer can irrigate his crop or watch it wither, whether a student can study after dark or cannot.
In Telangana's case, every single natural resource required to generate electricity was available in abundance within the region. Singareni coal, the thermal fuel for Andhra Pradesh's power stations, was mined entirely from Telangana's coalfields. The Krishna and Godavari rivers, the water source for hydel power, flowed through three-quarters of their length in Telangana. Yet the region received a systematically smaller share of the power generated from its own resources, while the electricity produced was dispatched disproportionately to Andhra's industries and delta agriculture. This was not an accident of geography. It was a consequence of deliberate policy and administrative manipulation.
Poverty Amidst Plenty
All the coal came from Telangana. Most of the water came from Telangana. The power generated was sent elsewhere. Telangana had become a classic example of a region that produces what it cannot keep and goes without what it produces.
Hyderabad's Power History: Before Andhra Arrived
One of the arguments made by Andhra's leadership after the merger was that Hyderabad's development, including its electricity infrastructure, was the result of Andhra's contribution to the integrated state. The historical record demolishes this claim entirely.
The Hyderabad State Electricity Department was established in 1910, 43 years before the Andhra state was even created. Electricity reached the Nizam's palace in 1909. Street electrification in and around Hyderabad began in October 1913. By December 1915, electricity had been extended to Residency roads. By the end of the First World War, Hyderabad had 12 main and feeder lines, 50 substations, and 3,238 consumers including water pumps, flour and oil mills, X-ray machines, ice factories, cinema halls and industrial motors. The Hyderabad Electricity Act was in force from 1938 to 1939. By that year, Hyderabad was described as one of the best illuminated cities in India.
The first hydro-electric project in the Hyderabad state was inaugurated on 27 January 1955, at Nizamsagar, providing 15,000 KW to supplement the twin cities' power supply. This was a Telangana achievement, built by the Hyderabad state, before Andhra Pradesh was even formed.
How the Power System Was Manipulated Against Telangana
After the unbundling of APSEB into separate generation, transmission and distribution companies in 1999 and 2000, a series of administrative decisions systematically transferred the financial burden of expensive power onto Telangana's distribution companies while keeping the benefit of cheaper power for Andhra's companies. The mechanism was technical but the intent was clear.
The Agricultural Consumption Manipulation: The Numbers
Agricultural Connected Load vs Consumption: Evidence of Overestimation
| Region | Connected Load % | Claimed Consumption % | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andhra Region | 47.12% | 41.4% | Consumption lower than connected load, logical |
| Telangana Region | 52.87% | 58.6% | Consumption shown higher than connected load, inflated |
If Andhra consumption is taken as the basis, Telangana's consumption should be approximately 46.45%, not the 58.60% shown. The overestimation inflated Telangana's subsidy burden by thousands of crores. Source: DISCOM data, analysed in TRS submission to Sri Krishna Committee.
Power Generation Cost Comparison: Telangana vs Andhra Plants
| Region | Average Power Generation Cost (Rs per unit) | Implication |
|---|---|---|
| Telangana plants | Rs 1.83 | Cheaper power, should benefit Telangana consumers |
| Andhra plants | Rs 2.38 | Costlier power, burden transferred to Telangana DISCOMs |
By allocating Andhra's expensive plants to Telangana's distribution companies while ignoring the consumer mix, the system artificially inflated Telangana's subsidy burden by 31.33% compared to what it would have been under a fair allocation.
Per Capita Power Consumption: The Real Picture
Andhra's leadership argued that Telangana received more per capita power than Andhra because of high agricultural consumption, and that this proved Telangana was benefiting from the integrated state's resources. The per capita consumption data by district tells a different and more revealing story.
Per Capita Electricity Consumption by District, 2008 to 2009 (Units)
| District / Region | Domestic | Agricultural | Industrial | All Categories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyderabad | 453 | 0 | 190 | 1,057 |
| Ranga Reddy | 326 | 194 | 527 | 1,285 |
| Nalgonda | 73 | 476 | 437 | 1,126 |
| Medak | 89 | 460 | 690 | 1,292 |
| Warangal | 107 | 362 | 59 | 616 |
| Karimnagar | 110 | 253 | 94 | 665 |
| Mahbubnagar | 45 | 428 | 249 | 769 |
| Nizamabad | 111 | 545 | 41 | 754 |
| Adilabad | 93 | 166 | 214 | 560 |
| NPDCL Total (Telangana) | 108 | 288 | 102 | 613 |
| Visakhapatnam | 177 | 24 | 269 | 659 |
| West Godavari | 154 | 245 | 153 | 630 |
| Andhra Region Total | 140 | 195 | 255 | 746 |
Source: DISCOM data, 2008 to 2009. The domestic consumption in Telangana's non-Hyderabad districts is dramatically lower than in Andhra, reflecting genuine poverty and under-electrification. The high agricultural figures for Telangana districts reflect the inflated unmetered estimates discussed above.
The domestic consumption figures tell the real story. In Mahbubnagar, through which the longest stretch of India's Krishna river flows, domestic per capita consumption was just 45 units. In Warangal, 107 units. In Karimnagar, 110 units. These figures reflect genuine electricity poverty. The high agricultural consumption figures, as shown above, were inflated estimates used to hide the utilities' transmission losses and to artificially inflate Telangana's subsidy burden.
Power Sector Employment: The Same Story
The employment discrimination that characterised every other sector of the integrated state extended equally to the power sector. An analysis of directors and senior management of the successor entities of APSEB, covering APGENCO, APTRANSCO and the four distribution companies from 1999 to 2010, shows the same pattern: Telangana's people were systematically excluded from leadership positions in companies that managed Telangana's coal and water resources to generate electricity that largely benefited Andhra.
Power Sector Leadership: Telangana's Exclusion, 1999 to 2010
- Of the chairmen and managing directors of APTRANSCO, APGENCO and the four distribution companies from 1999 to 2010, the overwhelming majority were from Andhra region or from outside AP entirely. Telangana's representation in these top positions was negligible.
- The Presidential Order of 1975 providing for local reservations was not implemented in the power sector for 34 years, mirroring the violation in every other government sector.
- The Iron grip of anti-Telangana elements in the power management system meant that decisions about generation siting, transmission routing and distribution pricing were consistently made in ways that disadvantaged Telangana.
- Thousands of job opportunities for Telangana's unemployed youth in generation, transmission and distribution were lost due to discriminatory appointments to key posts.
- Had Telangana remained a separate state after 1956, with its coal resources, its water resources and its own power management, it would have been power surplus and revenue surplus, capable of providing 24-hour supply to rural areas and increasing agricultural supply hours from 7 to 9 hours.
Telangana has become a classic example of poverty amidst plenty. The entire system of power management with regard to the generation and transmission is under the iron grip of anti-Telangana and pro-Andhra elements. Coal needed for thermal power is available only in the Telangana region and not anywhere else in the rest of the state. Water resource required for hydal power is aplenty in Telangana. But the power generated through them is not available to meet even the minimum requirements of the region.
On Telangana's power sector situation in the integrated Andhra PradeshChapter III: The Complete Picture
The six subjects covered in this chapter, financial plunder, education denied, the capital city argument, water stolen, the employment question and power sector exploitation, are not separate grievances. They are six facets of a single, sustained, documented reality: that Telangana's people were systematically exploited in the integrated state of Andhra Pradesh, across every domain of public life, for fifty-three years.
In each domain the pattern is identical. Telangana contributed more than its share: more revenues, more water resources, more coal, more land for the capital. It received back less than its share: fewer teachers, fewer university grants, fewer irrigation projects completed, fewer government jobs, less power for its farms and industries. The deficit between what Telangana gave and what it received is the measure of what the merger cost the people of this region.
The SRC had predicted in 1955 that Telangana might be "converted into a colony by the enterprising Andhras." Across six spheres, the evidence of the integrated state confirms that prediction was not an exaggeration. It was a precise description of what actually happened.
Chapter III Complete
Six subjects, six documented patterns of exploitation. Financial plunder, education denied, the capital city, water stolen, employment denied, power misused. The evidence is official, confirmed by government committees and government data. It cannot be disputed.
Continue to Chapter IV, The Struggle →