The Odisha Rajya Bidyut Upavokta Mahasangha, a nonpartisan forum of citizens, on Tuesday sought the intervention of the Governor against the State Government’s inefficiency resulting in the possible power tariff hike.
Submitting a memorandum to the Governor, the Mahasangha said though Odisha was the first State in the country in bringing reform in electricity sector has failed miserably. The burden on genuine and honest consumer is increasing every year. The TAC loss of the distribution companies is brining additional tariff hike on the common consumer. In a recent judgment, the Appellate Tribunal on Electricity (ATE) has passed an order for which nearly 43 lakh power consumers are going to pay electricity tariff from 2006-07 to the tune of Rs 4,200 crore while every unit will cost Rs 5 to Rs 7.
Mahasangha secretary Rabi Behera and chairman Panchanan Kanungo through the memorandum urged the Governor to ensure a third party audit, preferably by CAG, of transmission and financial position of different stakeholders involved in the process of power production and distribution. This apart, the Mahasangha requested the Government to reduce the cost of electricity consumed in agriculture and allied sectors at least by 50 per cent and to reduce the tariff cost by at least 30 per cent per unit for common consumers.