The MIA says it is condemnable that a petition for an increase in electricity tariffs has been submitted amidst the hike in milk and bus fares and the escalating cost of essential commodities.
| Photo Credit: SRIRAM MA
Expressing concern over the proposed hike in power tariff by Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC), the Mysuru Industries Association (MIA) has said that it would have a negative bearing on industrial growth.
The CESC has filed a petition before the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC), seeking an increase of 68 paise a unit in the mandatory charges for all categories of electricity consumers. This includes an increase of 30 paise in the basic charge and 38 paise in the unit charge, adding up to 68 paise a unit.
The proposed hike will not affect the bulk of the domestic consumers as they come under Gruha Jyothi schemes and their consumption is below 200 units a month. But the hike will burden the government which will have to set aside a greater amount for subsidisation.
Suresh Kumar Jain, general secretary of MIA, said, “The CESC proposal comes as a shock to the industrial consumers who are already reeling under stiff competition in the market.”
An increase in the power tariff will only add to production costs and will make the industries less competitive, besides affecting the local economy, said Mr. Jain.
The CESC has sought a mandatory fee of ₹25 an HP and an increase of 10 paise a unit in charges for LT1 domestic consumers for the year 2025-26. For LT5 industrial consumers, the mandatory fee will be ₹40 an HP, and the electricity usage charge will increase by 10 paise a unit for the same period. Similarly, for HT2a category industrial consumers, the mandatory fee will be ₹75 rupees an HP, and the usage charge will increase by 15 paise a unit.
The MIA said it is condemnable that a petition for an increase in electricity tariffs has been submitted amidst the hike in milk and bus fares and the escalating cost of essential commodities. The proposed hike could have been avoided if there had been no political interference in power purchases and the CESC had recovered the amount due from government institutions along with a crackdown on unmetered electricity supply to irrigation pump sets.
Had the CESC reduced the transmission and distribution losses, it could have bridged the revenue deficit and avoided the proposed hike, said Mr. Jain.
The MIA said that there will be a public hearing to be conducted by the KERC on February 19,2025, and all stakeholders have been requested to file their objections.
The CESC has stated in its petition that it expects a revenue deficit of ₹609.56 crore for the financial year 2025-26 and hence the proposed hike of 68 paise a unit across all categories. Based on the current tariff, it has also projected a revenue deficit of ₹970.30 crore for the year 2026-27 and ₹1214.15 crore for 2027-28.
The CESC has also said that the proposed hike is to fund certain initiatives to improve its distribution network, reduce breakdowns, provide additional distribution transformers, replacement of existing LT/HT overhead lines with aerial bunched cable/covered conductor in hazardous locations, theft-prone areas, establish express feeders from stations to improve load distribution, etc.
Published – February 04, 2025 08:18 pm IST