Arappor report calls TN govt's bluff on cheapest electricity tariffs
Jayaraman Venkatesan of Arappor Iyakkam said that the significant increase in tariff has caused a huge drop in Tamil Nadu’s ranking.
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CHENNAI: Debunking the state government's claim of the cheapest electricity tariff in the country, Arappor Iyakkam on Saturday released a report analysing the electricity tariff of Tamil Nadu with other states, which revealed that the state has the lowest tariff in the domestic sector, for consumption up to the first 100 units per month, and the agricultural sector, while the rest of the sectors have medium to high tariffs.
In the report ‘Comparison of Electricity Tariff of Tamil Nadu with Other States for 2019-20 and 2022-23’, Arappor Iyakkam said it is evident that Tamil Nadu has a very high tariff compared to other states when it comes to domestic 800 and 1,000 units per month, all categories of commercial, 2,250 units/month of small industries and 15,000 units/ month consuming medium industries.
Even though the LT category consumers, including domestic, were billed bi-monthly in the state, the report considered the monthly billing to compare it with other states.
For the domestic category (see box), it said Tamil Nadu has the lowest tariff in the country for up to 100 units/month at the rate of Rs 1.13 per unit. The consumption of 200 units had a tariff of Rs 2.08 per unit and was ranked fourth in 2019-20. However, the tariff has increased to Rs 2.81 per unit in 2022-23, and TN has dropped to the 9th rank in the country.
For 400 units, the state had a tariff of Rs 5.69 per unit in 2022-23 and has dropped to the 18th rank.
Under the commercial tariff category, the state has the highest tariff and is ranked 37 for 300 units/month.
In the small industries category, the state ranked between 20 and 32 for consumption ranging from 750 to 2,250 units. While in the medium industries category, the state ranked 30th for the consumption of 15,000 units at Rs 9.45 per unit.
Jayaraman Venkatesan of Arappor Iyakkam said that the significant increase in tariff has caused a huge drop in Tamil Nadu’s ranking.
"The state government must take this report seriously and take serious efforts towards decreasing the tariff for the common man. The losses faced by the electricity boards are due to corruption and they should be recovered from those responsible for the loss and not from the common man," he said.
