As the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) gears up to hold its first public hearing on the proposed fare hike here on Friday, a cross-section of consumers has started registering their displeasure.
Power sector observers and concerned citizens hold the view that electricity utility Tangedco must look into why it is loss-ridden instead of just passing on the burden to consumers. Several industry bodies expressed their opposition at a recent State Advisory Committee meeting, sources said.
“Consumers alone are not responsible for this loss,” says S. Gandhi, president, Power Engineers Society of Tamil Nadu.
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“We, in fact, submitted a report to the government this summer which projected the loss from private power purchase at Rs.24,000 crore.” Tangedco must first plug the drain of resources, he said.
“Without taking any action on that front, just raising the tariff is not going to make any difference,” he noted.
A.D. Thirumoorthy, an energy consultant and a retired Tangedco engineer, said the utility had also taken no action on reducing power consumption by domestic consumers, which would ease the demand-supply gap.
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“The regulatory commission passed an order on demand management 18 months ago. It is possible to reduce domestic consumption by up to 30 per cent through the use of energy efficient lighting, boosting solar adoption and reducing usage. But there has been no action on this front,” he pointed out.
A senior TNERC official said that any technical or legal objections raised during public hearings would be taken into account before a final order is passed.
Public hearings would also be held in Erode on October 28 and in Tirunelveli on October 31.