After fellow party MPs from Mumbai Sanjay Nirupam and Priya Dutt took up cudgels for the aggrieved power consumers in the metropolis, senior Congress MP Gurudas Kamat has followed suit and written to the DF Government and Maharashtra power regulator to provide "open access" to the consumers on the choice of any provider offering better services or rates.
In identical letters written to Chief Minister Prithiviraj Chavan and the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC), Kamat also made a strong case for power consumers using up to 300 units of power in a month, being given the choice of switching from other service providers to the Tata Power Company (TPC), which supplies power to users relatively low rates.
"The TPC rates, I am told, are nearly Rs 2 per unit less than the other company in the market, up to a consumption of 300 units. A request hereby made that all consumers whose electricity consumption is up to 300 units per month, may be allowed to switch to TPC. The TPC may be directed to provide the services to the people of Mumbai wanting a change," Kamat stated in his representation made to the Chief Minister and MERC.
Kamat said that it was his understanding that 20 lakh households could benefit from being "open access" policy, if introduced by the State Government and MERC. He also urged the State Government and the MERC to consider extending other benefits like subsidies and withdrawal of taxes, to the consumers.
Reliance Energy, BEST, a civic undertaking, and Tata Power Company (TPC) cater to the needs of electricity consumers in the metropolis. Kamat's missive to the State Government and MERC comes on the heels of announcement by the Chief Minister that DF administration was contemplating reducing the power tariff for consumers based in Mumbai.
While making the announcement after the weekly State Cabinet meeting on Wednesday last, the Chief Minister, however, did not spell out the details as to the extent and how the State Government will reduce the power tariff for consumers in the city.
All Chavan had said was: "We intend to reduce power tariff consumers based in Mumbai. We are working on various formulae and alternatives. I have already had two rounds of talks with people concerned. Since private companies are catering to the electricity needs of the people in Mumbai, I will not be able to spell out at this juncture a specific plan as to how we will go about the whole thing".
After the State Government's January 20, 2014 decision to reduce the power tariff by 20 per cent for domestic and other consumers based in areas outside Mumbai, the power users in the city have been expecting the DF dispensation to scale down the electricity rates in the city in a similar way.
Earlier, Nirupam and Dutt had staged a dharna in front of the head office of Reliance Energy at Kandivli in north Mumbai, on January 13, to mount pressure on the private power supplying firm to reduce the tariff for consumers in the city. On her part, Dutt has for long been demanding uniform tariff for all consumers - catered to by different companies - in the metropolis.