G Noida refuses to pay higher tariff

Industrialists and residents of Greater Noida have refused to pay additional tariff of Rs 1.50 per unit for better power supply, Kapil Datta.

Industrialists and residents of Greater Noida have refused to pay additional tariff of Rs 1.50 per unit for better power supply. Noida Power Company Limited(NPCL) had offered to buy 25 Mega Watt (MW) surplus power from big industrial units to provide 24 hour power supply to the consumers and asked for their consent for the higher tariff.

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Greater Noida had introduced privatisation in power distribution in 1993 and NPCL was selected, who since then has been supplying power to Greater Noida. Residents were however, not satisfied with the power supply situation in the city. They on several occasion had threatened the company to stop operation if they failed to supply power. Greater Noida authority too at times threatened to cancel the licence of NPCL if the power situation did not improve in the city.

NPCL, Chief Executive Officer, RC Aggarwala, told Hindustan Times, “UP Electricity Regulatory Commission had organised a industrialist resident meet to explore implementation of a Pune type of model in the city, but industrialists and residents have refused to pay the higher tariff for getting better power supply. However, they agreed for a report to be prepared on the source from which power would be purchased, the time limit and at what cost. They agreed to discuss the proposal once it is in concrete shape.”

“Under the new arrangement industrialists will have to pay Rs 5.75 and still they will be saving Rs 6 per unit since they will have to use Diesel Generators during non supply hours. Around 70 per cent consumers are the industries. We cannot force them to agree to new tariff. It is a cooperative type of an arrangement for better supply,” said Aggarwala.

UP Udyog Vyapar Mandal, representative Ravi Bansal, Indian Industries Association’s Jatinder Parikh and industrialists Deepak Yadav, Iqbal Hasan, Dinesh Mathur, S.V.Singh echoed similar sentiments of not accepting the additional tariff for better power supply.

“We had thought that privatisation would solve our power problems, but even after over a decade power supply instead of improving has deteriorated further and units are not able to run even a single shift,” they said.

“Now even if we agree for a hiked tariff what was the assurance that we will get 24 hour power supply. NPCL’s past track record is very confusing. Though the company was to set up a power generation unit within 4 years, but till today there is no sign of it,” they added.

Regarding the power generation plant, Aggarwala said, “State Government’s non cooperation was the main cause for not implementing the project. Two years ago we had given a proposal for a 100 MW gas based plant and asked for help in procuring the gas. Now in May we have given a proposal for a coal based plant of 500 MW capacity, which could be set up in Eastern UP. But till today the file is pending with the State Government.”

Residents and institute owners too refused to the hiked tariff proposal.