FJCCI opposes Jharkhand-owned power discom’s tariff
Addressing the media, FJCCI energy sub-committee chairman Binod Kumar Tulsyan and sub-committee member Ajay Bhandari said the audit report of JBVNL accounts has mentioned that it cannot be relied upon.
The Federation of Jharkhand Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI) on Monday opposed the proposed power tariff by the Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (JBVNL) for the year 2020-21 on the ground of the audit report attached with the tariff proposals.
Addressing the media, FJCCI energy sub-committee chairman Binod Kumar Tulsyan and sub-committee member Ajay Bhandari said the audit report of JBVNL accounts has mentioned that it cannot be relied upon.
Earlier, the state-owned power discom submitted its proposals in February to the Jharkhand State Electricity Regulatory Commission (JSERC).
The power regulator has uploaded the tariffs on its website for public view and seeking suggestions as well.
However, the JSERC could not hold the mandatory public hearings before announcing the new tariff due to the Covid-19 pandemic .
The FJCCI was of the view that the JBVNL has failed to provide reliable power to its customers and now their accounts were also not reliable.
Tulsyan said the industrial units were getting about 20 hours of electricity supply but the fixed charges were being calculated on the basis of power supply of 24 hours.
“Why we should not demand uninterrupted power then,” he questioned.
He said the JBVNL has proposed Re one per unit hike in domestic category and 75 paisa per unit hike for commercial users.
Pointing out the its lack of efficiency, the FJCCI energy sub-committee chairman said open conductors connected with the transmission grids often cause power cuts, resulting in interruptions in productions of industrial units.
The two FJCCI members also questioned how the energy dues of JBVNL on Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) against power purchases that was nil in 2015 rose up to Rs 5,760 crore in the past five years.
The FJCCI was of the view that the power distribution and supply in Jharkhand should be handed over to a competent authority having a professional approach and accountability.
