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State Govt should bail out ASEB

By Sivasish Thakur

GUWAHATI, Dec 16 � Strongly opposing the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL)�s proposal for yet another hike (31 per cent) in power tariff from Rs 4.75 per unit to Rs. 5.90 per unit in energy charge along with the move of renaming capacity charge with hike in tariff in place of fixed charge, the North Eastern Small Scale Industries Association (NESSIA) has termed the proposal untenable on several counts.

The NESSIA also made clear its stand during the public hearing held by the Assam State Electricity Regulatory Commission (AERC) in the city.

In the hearing, NESSIA State president Sailen Baruah reasoned that that it was completely the responsibility of the Assam Government to compensate additional liabilities of the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) arising out of the hike in fuel (natural gas) price supplied by the Government of India to the gas-based power stations for which the APDCL had to incur an additional cost of Rs 22 crore per month for power purchase.

�Unlike other States of the country, the Government of Assam should take special initiatives to bail out the ASEB with additional funds. The consumers cannot be made to compensate the ASEB�s losses at any cost. The issue of power tariff hike cannot be de-linked from the State Government, and therefore, the FPPPA formula proposed by the APDCL should not be considered by the AERC till the State Government bears the additional burden,� Baruah said.

Pointing out that in the proposal in the capacity charge, the APDCL was realizing monthly fixed charge from the consumer, the NESSIA said that activities of the State�s small sector industries that are covered by connected load up to the range 50 KVA are in general limited to day hours only between 8 am to 5 pm, thereby utilizing power from the ASEB for eight hours during a day. �

In addition, due to peak load restriction, holiday weekly rest and other factors, small sector industries up to 50 KVA load utilize power for hardly 22 days a month on eight-hour activities. �Besides, the APDCL is realizing revenue in the name of fixed charge without supplying any power and therefore renaming capacity charge in place of fixed charge is not acceptable. The authorities simply can not shirk the responsibility of supplying uninterrupted and quality power to the consumer who is paying for it,� the NESSIA added.�

The NESSIA said that it opposed the proposal of introduction of capacity charge with high amount of charge by replacing fixed charge to the industries under reference up to 50 KVA connection to pay Rs 5,000 per month against existing Rs 2,000 per month.

Calling for curbing the abnormal transmission and distribution (T&D) losses of the ASEB at any cost, the NESSIA further opposed the proposal of connection charge to all categories of consumers.

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