E-Paper
Power tariff hike in UP highest, says consumer lobby
The 12% power hike for domestic consumers in Uttar Pradesh was higher than in any other state, the head of a power consumers’ lobby said on Thursday.
The 12% power hike for domestic consumers in Uttar Pradesh was higher than in any other state, the head of a power consumers’ lobby said on Thursday.
Avadhesh Kumar Verma, chairman of Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad, said Karnataka had hiked power tariff by 4.28 %, Punjab by 2.14 %, Uttarakhand by 2.79% and Madhya Pradesh by 7%.
While Delhi had reduced the rates of power, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Odisha and Bihar had not increased the power tariff at all, he claimed.
“The state government says the tariff (in UP) has been increased due to a rise in prices of petrol and crude oil, but then why have other states not been affected by this international trend,” he said.
“It’s the duty of state government to reduce the hike in favour of the common man. The state government has been chosen by common man, so it has to think about them and not about the department, which is already overcharging consumers,” he said.
He said various traders’ organisations were opposing the hike as business was suffering due to an economic slowdown. The power tariff hike would affect most traders and they would either have to close down their establishments or increase the prices of commodities, he said.
He said UPPCL had started a chain reaction which will “surely affect the poorest of the poor in the society”.
