Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SP)
Udupi, Sep 9: A meeting to pool response of power consumers of the district to the proposal of Escoms in the state to hike power tariff, was organised by Consumers Forum here at its auditorium on Thursday September 8.
Participating in the meeting, Satyanarayana Udupa, member of Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission, said that a total of 4,500 objections had been received from four districts under Mescom to the said proposal. He added that out of these, 3,750 were from Udupi district alone, including 2,800 from Bharatiya Kissan Sangha members and 800 from Krishik Sangh.
“Last time, Mescom had demanded for a hike of 75 paise per unit, against which, KERC permitted a hike of 45 paise. This time, it proposes to increase power tariff by 88 paise per unit. If the electricity supply companies take steps to stop transmission loss, pilferage, doing away with illegal connections etc, there is no need for power tariff hike. At present, the state has the capacity to meet 95 percent of its requirement through hydel power, which is cheaper. This has to be properly tapped. The commission appears to be in a hurry to permit tariff hike as requested. Mescom is earning profits, but it shows that it is running under loss,” he explained.
Commission’s Ombudsman, Shantaraj Aithal, felt that hydro-electric power usage can be optimised if dredging work is undertaken to remove silt from the reservoirs and dams.
Prasadraj Kanchan, president of Udupi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that there is an emergent need to stop leakage of power. He also said that as per his information, Karnataka Power Corporation does not have the infrastructure facility needed to handle additional power generated by the second unit of UPCL, once its second generation unit becomes functional. Lakshmibai, a consumer, wanted major share of power generated by UPCL to be available for the consumers of the district.
It was decided to pass a resolution unanimously rejecting the power tariff hike demand of Mescom, and forward the same to KERC and Mescom.
Consumers Forum convener, Damodar Aithal, trustees, Rabindra Nayak, A P Kodancha, and others were present.