PANAJI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Goa on Thursday warned of “Andolan 2.0” if the BJP government continues with the smart meter rollout without first addressing Goa’s worsening power supply, rising tariffs, and ageing infrastructure.
Addressing a press conference, AAP leaders said the state is facing frequent unplanned outages, rising electricity bills, and mounting consumer stress, while the government focuses on smart meter installation.
AAP Goa President Valmiki Naik said the government must prioritise uninterrupted supply over new systems.
“The BJP should first focus on supplying uninterrupted electricity before talking about installing smart meters. Across Goa, people are facing frequent power cuts and unplanned outages,” he said, claiming there have been “more than 25 major unplanned power outages across the state.”
He also flagged rising costs, pointing to approved tariff hikes. “The government has already approved annual tariff hikes of around 4% for the next four years. At a time when people are struggling with inflation, electricity is being made more expensive,” he said, adding that consumers are also facing inflated bills due to sanctioned load discrepancies and additional charges.
“There is no shortage of electricity. There is a shortage of political will,” said AAP Vice President Roque Mascarenhas, arguing that the core issue lies in ageing infrastructure. “Goa’s transformers and power distribution system are decades old and urgently need upgrading. Instead of investing in infrastructure, the government is focusing on publicity exercises,” he said.
He added that without upgrading the distribution network, issues like outages and voltage fluctuations will continue.
Youth President Pujan Malvankar said electricity has become increasingly unaffordable for ordinary citizens. “Electricity is not a luxury; it is a necessity. BJP promised better power supply, but has failed to deliver. Families, students, small businesses, and senior citizens are all suffering due to irregular supply and rising bills,” he stated.
AAP also cited examples from other states, claiming improved efficiency and subsidised power models show what is possible with political will. The party said Punjab has achieved a distribution efficiency of over 90%.
