Power cut at Vijayawada’s Kanaka Durga Temple over Rs 3.08 crore pending dues; essential services hit

Vijayawada: Power supply to the Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam (Kanaka Durga Temple), one of the most prominent pilgrimage centres in Andhra Pradesh, was abruptly disconnected by Andhra Pradesh Central Power Distribution Company Limited (APCPDCL) officials on Saturday following its failure to clear Rs 3.08 crore pending dues.

The disconnection, which lasted for over three hours from 10:30 am to 1:40 pm, caused severe inconvenience to thousands of devotees present at the temple.

Officials of the power department stated that the temple had outstanding electricity dues amounting to Rs 3.08 crore, which had not been cleared.

Water and food services hit

The outage disrupted essential services at the hill shrine. This included:

- Temple authorities struggled to pump drinking water to reservoirs on Indrakeeladri, while lifts came to a halt as 11 power connections were cut simultaneously.

- Daily food preparation was affected. During peak darshan hours between 11:30 am and 12:30 pm, large numbers of devotees were left waiting in long queues.

To mitigate the impact, temple officials operated diesel generators on an emergency basis.

Dues related to temple’s solar power plant

Temple authorities maintained that the dispute primarily concerns the settlement of electricity units generated by the temple’s solar power plant and fed into the grid. They claimed that notices issued by the electricity department included penalties of up to Rs 30 lakh.

Clarifying their position, temple officials said they were ready to pay any dues, excluding the solar power-related bill and questioned why the APCPDCL was treating the temple like a commercial establishment.

Bills pending since February 2023, say electricity officials

However, according to APCPDCL officials, the Devasthanam had not paid electricity bills since February 2023.

Despite issuing multiple notices seeking clearance of the pending dues, there was no response from the temple authorities, prompting the power utility to disconnect the electricity supply from the High-Tension line.

In the interim, arrangements were made to maintain essential services, using a generator.

On the other hand, electricity department officials argued that, as per Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) norms, only a 500 KW solar plant is permitted per power connection, whereas the temple had installed a one-megawatt plant, leading to technical and billing issues.

They asserted that the temple must pay for the electricity consumed, while the temple administration countered that the solar-generated power was being supplied to the grid.

Endowments Minister’s intervention brings power back on

The incident drew the attention of Endowments Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy and Power Minister Gottipati Ravikumar, who reportedly took serious note of the power cut and expressed displeasure, stating that such actions were tarnishing the government’s image.

Following the ministers’ intervention, electricity supply to the temple was restored at 1:40 pm.

The episode has highlighted an ongoing dispute between the temple administration and the power department over solar power accounting and outstanding dues.