Panjim: The state government has proposed a six per cent tariff hike for domestic consumers in the first two slabs of power consumption category 0 to 100 and 101 to 200 units, while the overall increase is 3.48 per cent.
The proposal was made to the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) during a public hearing in Panaji in connection with the petition submitted by the power department for tariff proposal for the financial year 2024-2025.
Speaking during the hearing, Chief Power Engineer Stephen Fernandes said that if approved by the commission, the new tariff will be implemented from April 1, 2024.
Fernandes said that as per the proposal, a six per cent tariff hike has been proposed for domestic consumers in the first two slabs of power consumption category 0 to 100 and 101 to 200 units, while an overall increase of 3.48 per cent has been proposed.
The electricity department has revised energy tariff for low pressure domestic consumers from Rs 1.75/kWh to Rs 1.88/kWh (increase of 12 paise) for 0-100 units, from Rs 2.6 to Rs 2.79/kWh (increase of 19 paise) for 0-100 units. Have proposed. Consumption between 101-200 units to Rs 3.7/kWh from Rs 3.3/kWh, consumption between 201-300 units to Rs 3.7/kWh (increase of 40 paise), consumption between 301-400 units to Rs 4.9/kWh from Rs 4.4/kWh. Rs/kWh (increased by 50 paise) and for consumption above 400 units from Rs 5.1/kWh to Rs 5.8/kWh (increased by 70 paise).
The department has also proposed a hike in energy tariffs for low-stress consumers in commercial, industrial, hotel industry and agriculture categories as well as public lighting, hoardings and sign-boards and electric vehicle charging station categories.
The hearing was attended by people from both the districts as well as political leaders from opposition parties and protested against the tariff increase.
Political party leaders advised the government to recover pending dues to bridge the revenue gap. Consumers also highlighted issues related to frequent interruptions in power supply.
Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Director General Sanjay Amonkar supported the idea of using barren land to install solar panels. He also suggested that a fee could be imposed on digital TV to raise revenue.
Benaulim MLA Venji Viegas said that there is no transparency in providing uninterrupted electricity. Money should have no value and no accountability.
“There should be accountability for expenditure. Education, health, electricity and water are basic needs and the government must provide them. If BJP announced to provide 100 units of electricity for Rs 100 in Madhya Pradesh, then why is this not happening in Goa? The increase in electricity rates is not acceptable.”
Congress President Amit Patkar also petitioned JERC not to allow increase in electricity rates. It urged the power department to take action on high-end villas paying domestic tariff. The party said commercial tariffs should be imposed on high-end villas.
Goa Forward Party has expressed objection to the proposal to increase electricity tariffs. The party submitted a memorandum to the commission asking the government to focus on recovering dues of over Rs 200 crore.
Chief Electrical Engineer Stephen Fernandes said the state cannot take more than 700 MW of power.
“If any line is closed, we are asked to reduce power by 380 MW. People sitting here do not know this because the power supply to the industry has been cut,” he said.
Fernandes said, “Infrastructure is very important for every person. We should thank Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, which are getting polluted due to coal and we are getting electricity.
