BJP fights for consumers against power tariff hike

The State BJP on Thursday urged Orissa Electricity Regulatory Commission to reject the petitions of the four State-owned utilities in the power sector for a further hike in electricity tariff.

BHUBANESWAR: The State BJP on Thursday urged Orissa Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) to reject the petitions of the four State-owned utilities in the power sector for further hike in electricity tariff.

A six-member delegation of the BJP led by the vice-president of party’s State unit Samir Mohanty met OERC Chairman UN Behera and submitted a memorandum requesting to spare the consumers, who are already burdened with an enhanced tariff from April 1, this year.
While opposition political parties have raised a hue and cry against further tariff hike, sources in the regulatory commission said, the four utilities - Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC), Odisha Hydro Power Corporation (OHPC), Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited (OPTCL) and Odisha Grid Corporation Limited (Gridco) - have filed petitions for review of errors in tariff orders for 2017-18.

The utilities are within their rights to demand a review of errors, if any, in the tariff order passed by the Commission for the current financial year. If the Commission feels that the contention of the petitioners are genuine, the errors are corrected.

There is little scope for revision of tariff as the Commission followed an elaborate process for determination of tariff. If any of the stakeholders has any objection to the tariff order, the Appellate Tribunal of Electricity (ATE) is the right forum to appeal, the sources maintained.
Filing review petitions by the four utilities is a common feature every year and in most of the cases, such petitions are rejected by the Commission, said a senior officer of Energy Department.
In the tariff order for 2017-18, the Commission had effected a hike of 10 paise per unit for domestic consumers.

The average bulk supply price of the State has increased from `2.73 per unit in 2016-17 to `2.77 per unit in 2017-18 as against the Gridco demand for `3.97 per unit.

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