THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) launched a sharp attack on Power Minister Sudin Dhavalikar, accusing him of misleading the public on electricity issues and justifying government failures.
AAP State President Valmiki Naik, said the Chief Minister’s decision to rollback smart meters and waive penalties came only after AAP’s sustained protests.
“This is a small victory for the common man crushed under exorbitant bills,” Naik said, at a press conference where he was joined by joined by Organisation Secretary Prashant Naik and Vice President Sunil Singnapurkar, .
He criticised Dhavalikar for defending high costs and outages and pointed to Assembly replies admitting 19,000 outages between January 2024 and May 2025, caused by grid failures, damaged poles, cable faults and poor maintenance.
“There is no point in installing smart meters when consumers are left in the dark. This is extortion by the Electricity Department and the BJP government,” he said.
The party reiterated its demand for 300 units of free electricity per household, arguing that Goa’s dependence on the national grid can be no excuse as Delhi and Punjab where AAP governments provide free power also depend on the national grid.
“It would cost Rs 350 crore annually, less than one percent of Goa’s budget,” he said, calling the BJP’s refusal a lack of intent rather than economic feasibility.
