Industry, Pune consumers oppose power tariff hike

Domestic and industrial power consumers on Wednesday strongly opposed the power tariff hike proposed by Mahadiscom, with a representative of automobile major, Tata Motors, warning that any further hike would make industry unviable.

The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (Merc) conducted a public hearing in the city on the petition of Mahadiscom for power tariff hike.

Chairman VP Raja and member Vijay Sonawane were present for the hearing.

Various power consumers and organisations demanded that the regulatory body reject the proposal of Mahadiscom for additional revenue by way of tariff hike.

Speaking on behalf of Tata Motors, Udaykumar Deshpande said that in fiscal 2010-11, the peak power demand gap was 17.8%. There is every possibility of increase in the gap. Power shortage has led to big threat to the economy of the state and law and order situation.

“If Mahadiscom does not take drastic steps to improve power supply, the situation would worsen,” he cautioned, adding that small scale industries in the state are in trouble due to long load-shedding hours.

Deshpande said the power purchase cost of Mahadiscom has increased due to poor performance of Mahagenco, and claimed that it was incorrect to blame it on coal shortage. He said Merc should direct Mahadiscom to submit a 5-year power procurement plan.

The Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture (MCCCIA) also opposed the proposal. Representing the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), VG Kulkarni said the civic body spends Rs70 crore every year on power bill for water supply in the city, and could not afford another tariff hike.

Activist Vivek Velankar, speaking on behalf of 20 NGOs which are part of Pune Nagari Sanghatana (PNS),  presented a petition to Merc, signed by 10,000 citizens. He said that the ‘Pune Model’ of zero load-shedding was run successfully for 5 years by citizens.

He said that no action is being taken on complaints of corruption by Mahadiscom authorities.

Aswini Chitnis of Prayas Energy Group said poor performance by power generating stations had resulted in shortfall of power. Power tariff proposals should be demystified, she said, suggesting there should be a single category for small users to avoid harassment.

Representative of Maharashtra Veej Grahak Sanghatana, Sanjay Khadalkar, said the proposed hike was unreasonable.

“It is the expectation of consumers that the power tariff should remain constant for at least a year, and any hike should be moderate,” he said.