GUWAHATI, March 23 - North Eastern Small Scale Industries Association (NESSIA), the apex body of the micro, small and medium industries in the North-east, while welcoming the much-awaited reduction in power tariff by the Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (AERC) for the financial year 2018-19, said the positive initiative taken by AERC would be totally negated by the State government�s proposed budgetary provision of five per cent ad-valorem on energy bill of all consumers as electricity duty instead of the existing Rs 0.20/unit.
It also urged the State government to roll back the proposed budgetary provision to levy five per cent ad-valorem on energy bill.
�We congratulate the AERC on reduction in unit rate for the first time in the power tariff history of Assam. This initiative by AERC will give the much-needed relief to the consumers of all categories. However, NESSIA feels that the fixed charge increased in new tariff could have been relaxed,� NESSIA president Sailen Baruah said.
NESSIA stated that if the load survey of all consumers is carried out afresh, there would be a huge increase in fixed charge head and probably AERC would have the liberty not to enhance the fixed charge in the tariff.
�We also feel that the good and positive initiative taken by AERC will be totally negated by the State government�s budgetary provision of five per cent ad-valorem on energy bill of all consumers as electricity duty instead of the existing Rs 0.20/unit. The industries as a whole will suffer a lot,� Baruah said.
NESSIA secretary Kumud Chandra Medhi said AERC order on new tariff would give a new thrust to industrialisation and the required push for the Advantage Assam initiative of the Assam government.
�We request Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Finance Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma to kindly roll back the proposed budget provision to levy five per cent ad-valorem for electricity duty against the existing rate of Rs 0.20/unit,� he added.
