The manufacturing and industrial sector in Mysuru is bracing for a showdown with the Chamudeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC) which has sought a hike in power tariff.
The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) will conduct a public hearing at the Deputy Commissioner’s office on February 11 in this connection and the stakeholders have joined hands to oppose the proposed hike.
The Mysore Industries Association and the Karnataka Laghu Udyog Bharathi are among the various stakeholders who will table their objections to the proposed hike as it affects their financials.
“Contrary to the hike proposed by the CESC we will seek a reduction in the fare by 60 paise per unit as there is surplus power in the State. In addition, there was copious rains and hydel generation was high and the State was tapping alternative source of energy like solar and wind to generate power’, said Suresh Kumar Jain of Karnataka Laghu Udyog Bharathi.
There is a general perception that the hike tends to be ‘nominal’ and the industry can afford to meet it. But contrary to the popular belief, the burden is immense on the industries as the power consumption is high depending on the size and scale of the unit. “In case of a unit consuming 15,000 to 20,000 units per month the additional burden will be in the range of ₹9,000 to ₹12,000 over and above the existing fare and will eat into the bottomline’’, said Mr. Jain.
Another member of the MIA said the industrial sector was still reeling due to the impact of the economic slowdown and had not yet come out of the doldrums. There is a proposal to increase the water tariff as well. This being the case there is no scope for a hike in power tariff, said the member. This adds to the production cost which will be passed on the consumer who has to bear the burden in the final analysis, he added.
CESC has sought a hike on the grounds that there is a mismatch between the revenue receipts from the existing tariffs and the revenue requirement and the hike was a must to bridge the deficit.
It said the revenue deficit was to the tune of ₹113.26 crore for the financial year 2018-19 which increased to ₹630.74 crore during 2019-20 and has projected a revenue deficit of Rs.475.50 crore for 2020-21.
The CESC has also claimed that the average cost of supply of power was more than the average rate of realisation and the deficit per unit was 68 paise per unit during the financial year 2020-21.
