The declaration of the 27 paisa hike in power tariffs and the Rs 5 fixed charge/KW/month by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) has come as a shock to industrialists in Karnataka and they are clearly miffed at the steep hike in prices.
“The hike in tariffs comes as a shock. It is bad for the common man as he already has to cope with high inflation rates, and it harms industrialists as they are suffering power cuts and labour is idle,” Mr M.C. Hiremath, past President of the Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Business Line . “The tariff revisions come as a shock and it is unreasonable.
“They are not able to service industries sector and there are 8-hour power cuts in rural areas, yet they have increased prices so steeply,”
“We feel that they should have held on for some more time till things streamline before increasing tariffs,” he added.
The Karnataka Small-Scale Industries Association (KASSIA) called the upward revision of power tariff “unrealistic and irrational in the given situation of power supply in quality and quantity.”
There is lack of sensitivity and concern of the small-scale industries (SSI) users analysing the request of the ESCOMS for a uniform tariff hike, KASSIA said.
“Instead of toning up the efficiency and sharpening the administrative and distribution system, the Regulatory body has succumbed to the enhancement mode which is unfortunate,” KASSIA said in a press statement.
In the overall context of bank rate increase and inflationary spiral, the present power tariff is not at all conducive for a healthy growth of industries, KASSIA said.