TSSPDCL's Googly on Eve of Sunrisers Game Power Supply Stopped to Uppal Stadium
Hyderabad: Power supply to HCA’s Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium (RGICS) was cut on Thursday evening, barely 24 hours ahead of the 7.30 pm start of the IPL cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings, throwing a dark cloud over the prospects of the game.
The power supply was cut to the stadium by the Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TSSPDCL) which said the HCA owed it Rs 1.63,94,521 as surcharge dues in a ‘power theft’ case dating back to 2015.
When the power was cut on Thursday evening, the two teams were on the ground. Though the stadium lights were back with HCA using backup power generators, the power cut came as a huge embarrassment for the HCA, already reeling under charges of inefficiency in ticket sales, ticket scalping by black marketeers and upset fans complaining about how quickly the tickets disappear. The late decision to cut power supply has left fans aghast with confusion reigning whether the match will be held on Friday.
Allaying fears over any disruptions to Friday’s highly anticipated game, HCA secretary R. Devaraj told Deccan Chronicle that the Association was confident that the issue will be resolved and the match will go on as scheduled on Friday.
“We are reaching out to senior authorities to resolve the problem and we are confident about the game,” he said.
The TSSPDCL had on February 20 served a final notice on HCA demanding payment of the pending surcharge, and gave the association 15 days to do so. However, the HCA failed to make the payment, and according to TSSPDCL officials, the HCA was reminded about the dues prior to the March 27 game between Sunrisers and Mumbai Indians, but there was no response from them.
In its notice, TSSPDCL had also warned that if the dues were not paid within 15 days from February 20, power supply was liable to be disconnected without further notice. And on the eve of the next Sunrisers game at its home ground, the TSSPDCL shut the power to the stadium.
The TSSPDCL, it is learnt, wanted to make the HCA an example of how high tension power consumers who either litigate when it comes to paying their bills, or are deliberately tardy in doing so, will not be allowed to have their way.
“When we take action against common people who fail to pay their small domestic bills, there is no reason not to go after the big HT consumers,” a TSSPDCL official said.
The notice to HCA and Friday’s action is part of an ongoing drive to collect around `2,000 crore dues owed to the power utility by HT consumers, the official said.
Meanwhile, sources said that the TSSPDCL action was not actually about collecting dues from HCA but a swing at the association, which refused to meet a demand from electricity officials for free passes for Friday’s match. However, a TSSPDCL official dismissed the allegation saying there was no truth in it and that the HCA had it coming, as it was given more than a fair amount of time to pay the dues.
“It could have come to an agreement to pay in installments and the utility was willing to explore all options, but it simply ignored our notices,” the official said.
Sources in the HCA said it was the previous management committee, headed by Arshad Ayub, which should have dealt with the issue before the new committee took over in last October. The case against HCA pertains to a 2015 demand for power bill dues that dragged on till 2021 after which the TSSPDCL raised a demand for payment of `3,05,12,790, which included `1,63,94,521 as penal surcharge for unpaid bills. Following this, the HCA went to the courts but lost the case in 2022 and according to TSSPDCL officials, the Association paid the primary bill of Rs 1,41,18,269 in three installments, but did not pay the penal surcharge.
