Power crisis coupled with a hike in tariff has severely hit operations of industrial units in Kerala. Many now say they would have to declare themselves sick or close down or even move to other states.
The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission has restricted all HT/EHT (extra high tension) consumers to 75 per cent of their normal consumption from December 15, 2012, to May 31, 2013. The commission had earlier approved a steep revision in tariff by more than 35 per cent with effect from July, 2012.
Cochin Chamber of Commerce & Industry president P Narayan said the revision would push up the energy cost by more than 50 per cent if a unit has to maintain its normal level of production by using alternative sources.
Narayan said the industry was facing a twin-crisis: first, a tariff crisis due to the high cost structure of the state electricity board and second, the availability crisis created by a combination of faulty demand and supply management.
The industry body led a delegation of senior representatives to meet chief minister Oomen Chandy to apprise him of the industry’s problems.
They requested the chief minister to urge the commission to bring in reforms in the sector in accordance with the Electricity Act 2003 and National Tariff Policy among others.
It also urged the government to provide budgetary support for the electricity board’s internal employee cost (like pension scheme) through separate fund allocations whereby savings in tariff will be nearly 50 paise per unit.
Other demands include, providing a tariff-hike holiday for the next three years to enable all sectors to draw up future plans, setting up a consultative and participative mechanism for policy-making in the power sector involving all the stakeholders, commissioning a detailed study by reputed power consultants to revamp the power sector and treating the current projected deficit as a regulatory asset (as permitted under the Electricity Act 2003).
