BHUBANESWAR : The BJP on Tuesday took on the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) stating the tariff orders passed for 2021-21 are not acceptable on the face of cheaper and surplus power situation of the State.
State BJP president Samir Mohanty told mediapersons that the commission has utterly failed in its duty by penalising 92 lakh consumers of the State for the inefficiency of distribution companies. The party has announced to launch a week-long protest across the State beginning Wednesday, demanding immediate rollback of price hike and uninterrupted power to consumers.
Mohanty alleged that apart from providing annual budgetary support for strengthening the transmission and distribution infrastructure, the State government has been infusing huge funds to the sector from the Disaster Response Fund for restoration works after successive tropical cyclones like Phailin to Yaas that hit the Odisha coast from 2013 to 2021.
The office of the Special Relief Commissioner had released Rs 728 crore for power supply restoration works after cyclone Fani, the worst calamity to strike the State after the 1999 super cyclone. The distribution companies have yet not submitted the utilisation certificates to the State government, he said.
After taking over the four distribution companies (discoms), Tata Power has been telling that the distribution infrastructure is in bad shape and needs substantial investment. The investment proposed by Tata Power will be transferred to the consumers in the shape of tariff.
“We urged the State government to publish a white paper on the power situation in the State and the investment made before the four discoms were handed over to Tata Power. The paper should give details of the number of projects sanctioned, projects completed, funds utilised and the agencies that executed the projects,” Mohanty said.
If the Tata Power complaints on poor infrastructure are true, the people of the State have every right to believe that there is another scam in the power sector, he added. While huge arrear bills are pending against big industries and government establishments, imposition of hefty tariff on common consumers will not be tolerated, he cautioned.