The proposed power tariff hike of Gridco, OPGC, OHPC, OPTC and the discoms is anti- people, said Samajwadi Party State president Rabi Behera on Saturday.
Behera said Odisha was the first State to go for power sector reforms in 1994-95, 28 years ago. The State Government promised to the then 10 lakh consumers that after power reform electricity would be qualitative, cheaper and uninterrupted.
But unfortunately, all these objectives of power sector reform have utterly failed. Today, electricity is neither cheaper nor its supply uninterrupted. Even the consumers in Bhubaneswar are facing power tripping and blackouts frequently.
Even, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, which are taking coal from Odisha for producing electricity in their States, are providing power to the consumers at cheaper rates.
The Power Finance Corporation of the Power Ministry while evaluating the power tariff situation in the country has given a caustic remark on Odisha. While the average collection per unit of power consumed in India is 5.08 paise in Odisha, it is 5.98 which is 90 paise more per unit of electricity. Thereby the power companies have almost looted Rs 2,727 crore in a year and around Rs 5,000 crore till date, alleged Behera.
