'Tangedco reduces fixed charges for MSMEs in tariff petition'

CHENNAI: Electricity Minister V Senthilbalaji on Friday said that Tangedco has sought a revision in the fixed charges for the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector in the tariff petition filed by it.

“In the public hearing, MSME sector people had requested for reduction of the fixed charges. Tangedco has filed a petition revising the fixed charges for the MSMEs tariff alone,” he told reporters here.

The MSMEs sector would come under the low-tension tariff III-B category. Tangedco had proposed to hike the tariff for the LT III-B category from Rs 6.35 per unit to Rs 7.50 per unit. The fixed charges were revised from Rs 35 per month to Rs 100 per kW per month (0-50kW), Rs 325 per kW per month (50-100 kW) and Rs 600 per kW per month (above 100 kW).

On the question of when the tariff hike would be implemented, the minister said that Tamil Nadu Spinning Mills Association has filed a case in the Madras High Court seeking to prevent the TNERC from hearing the tariff petition without the appointment of a legal member.

“There is no such provision exists in the law that mandates the appointment of a legal member. However, they got a court stay based on the wrong pretext. We appealed against the court order and got the stay vacated. Now the commission is free to pass an order on the tariff petition. We will implement the tariff hike from the date of issuance of the tariff order,” he said.