Don’t burden industries with tariff hike: TNCCI

MADURAI: Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TNCCI), Madurai, has urged the state government to roll back the proposed hike in electricity tariff to residential houses, commercial establishments and industries.

Over the last two years, trade and industrial activities in Tamil Nadu have been badly affected by Covid-19 pandemic lockdown and thousands of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have collapsed, leaving lakhs of workers jobless.

While the trade, commercial establishments and industrial units were slowly recovering from this situation, the government has proposed to increase the power tariff which would further affect the sector and the general public as they were also experiencing abnormal increase in prices of fuel, cooking gas, essential commodities and also cost hike of various items due to revision of GST rates, N Jegatheesan, president, TNCCI, Madurai said on Thursday.

“It’s unfair that the government has proposed to increase the electricity tariff hike, an average of 20 per cent to a maximum of 52 per cent. Electricity tariff hike of this magnitude has not been implemented in Tamil Nadu, earlier.” There’s no denying that the increase in the debt burden of the electricity board is due to unplanned activity such as non-implementation of power projects properly, purchase of power from the outside market at a higher price, increase in project costs as power generation projects were not executed and completed within the stipulated time, increased interest on the borrowed loan and coal purchased at a higher price from abroad.

Moreover, neither the trade and industry nor the general public are responsible for any of the reasons attributed to the increase in the loss suffered by Tangedco. It’s due to faulty mismanagement and delay in implementation of power projects, reducing the cost of generation of electricity and not increasing the electricity tariff for long time and not operating the electricity board in a profitable manner.

So, for the mistakes made by someone in the power sector, it could not in any way be justified to raise the electricity tariff and force people to accept the revised rates. The increase in electricity tariff could not be tolerated by the trade and industry, and the public. It’s certain that the hike in electricity tariff would have a major impact on daily life, he added.

Therefore, the TN Chamber has urged the government to withdraw the proposed hike in electricity tariff and withdraw the proposal submitted to the TN Electricity Regulatory Commission in this regard, the president said.