CONRAD DIAS
Ranchi, May 6: The members of Jharkhand Small Industries Association (JSIA) and Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce & Industries (FJCCI) are disappointed with the decision of Jharkhand Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (JUVNL) to increase the electricity tariff from 16 to 17 percent.
Arun Khemka, member of JSIA has said that the decision to increase the electricity tariff is not at all a good idea as the supply of electricity is really very bad in Ranchi.
“From the last 59 years, we are just getting assurance that the condition of electricity will improve but we all know the truth. The decision to increase the tariff is not at all acceptable by us. ‘Pehle bijli sudharo, upbhokta ko santusht karo phir bolo na’ (First improve the condition of electric supply and satisfy the customer then plan to increase the tariff),” he said.
As per the new tariff, it is expected that the Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (JBVNL) will have a lower rate for domestic consumers and higher rates for industrial consumers.
Punit Kumar Agarwal, Life member of FJCCI spoke to lagatar24.com and said that the decision to increase the electricity tariff should only be acceptable if they provide electricity 24 hours.
“There is no problem in increasing the electricity tariff from 16 to 17 percent unless JBVNL provide electricity 24 hours a day. We all know the present status of electricity in Ranchi. Half of the time there is no electricity and with the increase in tariff it is only going to affect the common man’s pocket,” said the life member of FJCCI.
Notably, due to the code of conduct applicable for Panchayat elections, a proposal to change the tariff structure will be submitted to the Jharkhand State Electricity Regulatory Commission by June.
In order to get an official statement on this, lagatar24.com contacted K.K. Verma, Chief Engineer of JBVNL, and was informed that no official statement will be given until the panchayat elections are over.
JBVNL had earlier proposed to increase the electricity tariff, on which the corporation had agreed in its board meeting. In its annual report, they have shown a loss of Rs 6,500 crore in power purchase and sale due to non-increase in power tariff for the last two years.
