Electricity consumers and representatives of various industrial associations have objected to the proposed power tariff hike at a public hearing organised by the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC), a statutory body for the State of Goa and other Union Territories, here on Wednesday.
Amid slogan shouting, representatives of civil society organisations urged the JERC to reject the claim of the Electricity Department that tariff had to be hiked to bridge the revenue gap of ₹ 212.22 crore from 2016-2019 and to earn additional revenue of ₹128.64 crore.
Industry unhappy
Urging the JERC not to approve of the Aggregate Revenue Requirement (ARR) 2018-19 in its current form, M. Nandakumar, vice-president of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Puducherry, said that power tariff was no longer competitive in Puducherry when compared to the neighbouring States. Industrial growth had not merely stopped but declined in the last few years.
“The quality of power is very poor and the standards of performance is not implemented by the Electricity Department. Puducherry is no longer a choice of destination for new companies due to inadequate infrastructure and high power tariff.
“The proposed hike would only add to the woes of industries,” Mr. Nandakumar said.
The attitude of the department over increasing tariff every year could not be justified when there were other avenues to increase the revenue and bring down expenditure. The public should not be burdened because of the “wasteful and unmindful expenditure” of the department, he said.
‘Hike irrational’
V. Venkatesh, a consumer, termed the proposal to hike tariff as unfair and irrational. While power connections of ordinary consumers are disconnected due to non-payment of bills, the department has not taken any step to collect the arrears from major industries that owe the government several crores, he alleged.
The Electricity Department should look at generating revenue from other sources instead of burdening the consumers with surcharge and frequent hike in tariff, Mr. Venkatesh added.
S. Desikan, another consumer, said that a sum of ₹176 crore was due to the electricity department as arrears from government departments and public sector undertakings.
The delay in taking meter reading by the department staff also resulted in consumers shelling out more money, even if their consumption had crossed the slab marginally, he claimed.
JERC chairperson M.K. Goel said the public hearing was not intended to reduce or maintain the power tariff.
The views of all stakeholders will be taken into consideration while deciding the tariff. If the rates are to be increased, it will done rationally, he said.
