State stays power tariff revision

The state government on Friday ordered a stay on the revised power tariffs of the regulator that offered concessions to commercial consumers and raised them for domestic consumers.

State Energy Minister Sunil Tatkare said the government has issued orders under Section 108 (A) of the Electricity Act,2003,to Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) to stay the implementation of its order dated August 17 that reduced the rates for malls,multiplexes and construction sites while increasing those of domestic consumers.

This is the second time the government has used the Section to order a stay on power tariff hikes in the recent months,and on both the occasions agitations had preceded the decision.

We are staying the MERC order. It was part of a cross-subsidy policy. However,before taking such a policy,they should have consulted all political parties and the public, Tatkare said.

He said the decision had been taken after due legal and technical examination.

The decision has been taken with the public in mind. We will be able to fill the gap between demand and supply of power in the next three years; till then everyone needs to use power judiciously. Such reduction in rates may lead to increased consumption and we dont want it.

He refuted allegations that the government had been armtwisted into such a decision.

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Meanwhile,political parties scrambled to stake claim for the decision. Both Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena claimed that their agitations had led to it. MNS chief Raj Thackeray had,three days ago,threatened to shut down malls,multiplexes and construction sites.

He had set Friday evening as the deadline for the power regulatory commission and the government to intervene and review the decision.

On Thursday,Shiv Sainiks hijacked the MNS agenda by launching an agitation on the issue. They locked up the bill payment centres of BEST in South Mumbai and the MNS was forced to defer its strike plan.

Raj had also met MERC chairman VP Raja besides speaking to Tatkare on the issue.

CLAIMING CREDIT

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It is open as to why the (government) decision has been taken. But the government should not repeat its mistake. I will not launch any agitation for the sake of it. We waited for a day as the government had assured us that they would take an appropriate decision by today.
Raj Thackeray,MNS president

Instead of taking a decision related to malls,the government should take measures to deal with the price rise affecting common people. When the Sena-BJP government comes to power,we will ensure cheaper power tariff for the common man.
Uddhav Thackeray,Shiv Sena executive president

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