No uniform power tariff, but reduced rates possible: CM

The city’s 38 lakh consumers will have to wait for a uniform power tariff, though their 28 lakh suburban counterparts can expect the government to reduce the monthly power bills instead of staying the recent seven per cent hike.

The city’s 38 lakh consumers will have to wait for a uniform power tariff, though their 28 lakh suburban counterparts can expect the government to reduce the monthly power bills instead of staying the recent seven per cent hike.

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Chief minister Ashok Chavan said on Wednesday that the government did not have any proposal to implement a uniform power tariff in the city. He also said that the government will not stay the suburban power hike (implemented by Reliance Infrastructure) again because the earlier stay had to be vacated.

“I will meet the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Comm-ission (MERC) chairman and his colleagues later this week to get their views on reducing the suburban hike. There’s no proposal for a uniform tariff before us,” Chavan said after Wednesday’s weekly cabinet meeting.

City consumers are demanding a uniform tariff because of a huge disparity in the tariff charged by four different companies. Tata’s rates are the cheapest while Reliance Infrastructure’s (RInfra) are the highest.

“When a government company like Mahaviratan takes a huge financial hit for consumers in Ahmednagar, the government should also help out Mumbai’s distressed consumers,” said a NCP minister requesting anonymity, as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

Bharatiya Janata Party's city president Raj Purohit alleged that the government was misleading consumers. “We will intensify our protests.”

Purohit said that his party’s next target will be the Tata Power Company because it refuses to supply power to RInfra but continues to sell 100 mega watts of power to other states for profiteering. “Tata’s power is meant solely for the city’s consumption,” said Purohit.