Pay up for free power, MERC tells Shinde

Deo’s statement assumes significance since farmers in the state consume about 800 crore units of electricity every year. This translates to an electricity bill close to Rs 2,200 crore at the rate of 2.84 paise per unit. So, in order to avoid cross-subsidy through urban consumers, the state has to pay MSEB upfront, Deo said.

He said power to farmers might soon have to be metered to keep track of consumption levels. Metering will be essential given that free supply can lead to a rise in consumption levels, besides possible mischief by bigger farmers’ groups.

Asked about the status of applications from Tata Power Company and Reliance Energy to supply power in Pune, all Deo would say was that the absence of commercial and financial guidelines for providing a parallel licence was the main reason for withholding permission. However, the MERC, he said, has ruled that private companies with captive power plants could now sell surplus power to anyone provided it used its own transmission lines — a decision that effectively ends the MSEB’s monopoly on power transmission.