TIRUPATI: A former IPS officer has accused Andhra Pradesh’s power utility of manipulating transformer tenders worth nearly ₹40,000 crore, sparking calls for a forensic audit, criminal investigation, and national-level technical verification.
A Petition That Alleges a Deep Power-Sector Scandal
Alleging serious irregularities and large-scale corruption in transformer procurement, members of the Centre for Liberty (CFL) submitted a petition to Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (APSPDCL) Chairman and Managing Director Siva Sankar Lotheti on Thursday.
The petition, filed by former IPS officer A.B. Venkateswara Rao, cites documentary evidence, RTI records, inspection reports, and purchase orders to claim that transformer tenders and approvals worth approximately ₹40,000 crore were manipulated to benefit a single private firm — Shirdi Sai Electricals Pvt. Ltd. (SSE).
“Based on documentary evidence, we found that tenders were tailored to favor SSE,” Rao said, calling the pattern of awards “a systematic distortion of public procurement norms” that potentially undermines the state’s power infrastructure and misuses taxpayer funds.
Disparities in Pricing and Eligibility
The CFL submission highlights significant discrepancies in transformer pricing between Andhra Pradesh and other states. According to the petition, Andhra Pradesh’s power utilities paid ₹1,19,899 for 25 kVA two-star transformers and ₹1,36,499 for five-star models, while neighboring states like Telangana (₹87,791), Chhattisgarh (₹75,496), and Uttar Pradesh (₹73,101) paid considerably less for similar units.
Records from 2017–18 show that tenders initially qualified seven companies, but only SSE and Toshiba were ultimately deemed eligible, with SSE reportedly cornering nearly 90 percent of all contracts, including a ₹505-crore order within APSPDCL alone.
“These patterns raise legitimate questions about how competition was constrained and why the same company repeatedly emerged as the prime beneficiary,” a senior energy-sector analyst told, pointing to a possible “closed tender ecosystem” within state utilities.
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Demands for Forensic Audit and Retesting
In response to these findings, Venkateswara Rao urged APSPDCL’s leadership to initiate an immediate forensic audit of all transformer procurements made since 2019. The petition calls for the public disclosure of tender documents, purchase orders, and approvals issued by the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC).
Rao further requested that suppliers found violating tender specifications be suspended and blacklisted, noting that public accountability is inseparable from technical integrity.
To verify the equipment’s performance and compliance, the CFL petition recommends independent re-testing of randomly selected transformers at nationally accredited laboratories such as CPRI (Central Power Research Institute) or ERDA (Electrical Research and Development Association).
Legal and Policy Implications
The complaint also invokes provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, urging criminal investigation into both officials and private entities allegedly involved in the procurement irregularities. The objective, Rao wrote, is to “protect the integrity of the State’s power sector and safeguard public funds.”
The APSPDCL, which manages power distribution across southern Andhra Pradesh, has not yet issued a public response to the allegations. However, energy policy experts note that if the claims are substantiated, the case could expose deeper structural vulnerabilities in public-sector tendering — where technical evaluations, vendor approvals, and oversight mechanisms often operate in silos.
For now, the CFL petition has placed Andhra Pradesh’s power bureaucracy under an uncommon glare — testing whether a system built to electrify millions can also illuminate its own corridors of accountability.
