Andhra govt to provide nine hours free power to farmers through direct cash transfer of bill amount

Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday decided that it will provide nine hours of free power to the farm sector during the day time through direct cash transfer of the bill amount. A cash transfer system has been designed through which the government will credit the bill amount for the consumed by the farmer in the field directly to his bank account.

Ajeya Kallam, Principal Advisor to Chief Minister, said that the direct cash transfer system will give a sense of feeling that the farmers have been paying for the power consumed and the power distribution companies will not go into the red.

As farmers lobbies and kisan unions raised doubts over the smart electricity meters, Kallam added that smart meters have many advantages and no one should worry about them. He said that the load on transformers can be determined with the installation of smart meters and sub-stations can adjust to the requirements.