The manufacturing and service sectors in Mysuru are bracing for elaborate objections to the power tariff escalation sought by Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation.
The fresh proposal for upward revision comes hardly six months after the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) had approved a hike in June last year.
“We are yet to fully recover from the downturn owing to the pandemic and now the CESC has sought another upward revision in tariff which will break our backs’’, said Suresh Kumar Jain of Mysuru Industries Association.
Even a nominal hike will have a cascading impact and make the manufacturing sector less competitive and hence the stakeholders are preparing a detailed objection for submission during the pubic hearing to be convened by the KERC, he added.
“The economy is not yet out of the uncertainties due to the pandemic and even as the industrial sector was gaining traction to reach the pre-pandemic level of growth the third wave is upon us and may have a bearing on the economy’’, said A.S. Satish, President, Mysore Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MCCI).
He said that the issue was already raised with the parent body, the Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI), and steps are being taken to file a strong objection against the application for upward revision of tariff filed by the CESC.
Stakeholders aver that the previous hike six months ago was sought to bridge the projected revenue shortfall and if they have sought another hike it only means that their projections were all wrong and is a commentary on inefficient management. “The KERC should reject such attempts of the ESCOMs in the State to pass on the financial burden arising due to their own mismanagement, to the consumers’’, said Mr. Satish.
The CESC’s proposal for tariff revision for the financial year 2022-23 has been justified on the grounds that the revenue gap for 2022-23 will be to the tune of ₹1,543.46 crore. It has also sought a hike in fixed charges to cover the operation and maintenance expenses. The CESC states that the fixed charges at the existing rate across all categories is ₹656.38 crore while the difference after taking into account the employee cost and other expenses stands at ₹316.69 crore.
The tariff hike required across all categories has been pegged at ₹2.27 per unit. The fixed charges for commercial lighting, heating and motive power installations is proposed to be raised from ₹105 per KW to ₹165 and from ₹205 per KW for every additional KW above 50 KW, to ₹265.
The CESC also admitted that owing to COVID-19, the energy sales in the financial year 2020-21 impacted the first half of the year and following the lockdown and restrictions industrial and commercial establishments were shut. This resulted in steep decrease in revenue demands and collections. The CESC owes ₹2,485.82 crore to the power generating companies as on September 2021 and has requested the KERC to approve the tariff revision.
