BHUBANESWAR: Faced with intense opposition to the power tariff hike, the State government on Wednesday said it will move the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) for reconsideration of the decision. Making a statement in the Assembly, Minister of State for Energy Dibya Shankar Mishra said the government will request the regulatory authority to reconsider the enhanced power tariff, which is set to be made effective from April 4, 2021.
The first and last time the government filed a review petition with the OERC to reconsider its decision to hike power tariff in the agriculture sector was in 2015. The Assembly witnessed uproarious scenes as the Opposition BJP and Congress members rushed into the well of the House demanding immediate rollback of the hike. Speaker S N Patro had to adjourn the Assembly multiple times and call an all-party meeting to discuss the issue.
Raising the issue during the zero hour, Leader of Opposition Pradipta Naik said the tariff hike within a gap of six months will seriously affect domestic consumers. Opposition Chief Whip Mohan Majhi said this is the second time that the State government has given an electric shock to the common man.
Holding the State government responsible for the increase, Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati said nothing in the State moved without the approval of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. “At a time, when common people are finding it hard to arrange a square meal for themselves, the power tariff hike is very unfortunate. Congress will hit the streets to protest the anti-people move,” he warned.
On the other hand, the BJD member Amar Prasad Satpathy clarified that the State government has no role to play in the decision. The OERC being a quasi judicial body determines the power tariff in consultation with different stakeholders, he stated.
