CPIM opposes power tariff hike petition

 CPIM state secretariat member Ratan Das on Wednesday vehemently opposed Tripura State Electricity Corporation’s petition seeking hike in power tariff for both commercial and normal consumers.

According to the TSECL’s Multi Year Tariff petition for generation for the year 2025-26, the state owned power utility sought to increase the power tariff with revision in various heads, subject to the approval of Tripura Electricity Regulatory Commission. The commission conducted its public hearing on Wednesday to register the objections raised by the consumer bodies.

As a principal opposition party, CPIM’s representative participated in the discussion and registered their grievances with the regulatory body. The CPIM leaders alleged that the TSECL had failed miserably in living up to the expectations of the public.

“We have raised multiple points which include the sharp fall in the state's own power generation. In the last seven and half years, no new power plant could be established in Tripura which can add up to the state’s total power generation. In fact, the power plants that were established under the Left regime have witnessed a 64 percent drop in power generation,” Das pointed out.

Accusing the TSECL of trying to put an extra burden of expenses on the shoulders of poor people, Das said, “The TSECL has proposed that in the peak hours which has been described as between 5:00 pm to 11:00 pm if a commercial consumer use more electricity than 10 KW, the individual had to pay 140 percent of the normal rate charged. For normal consumers the cost has been capped at 110 percent of the normal rate.”

This method is described as the TOD (Time of the Day) tariff system.

Das also tore into TSECL’s excuses of increasing the operational cost and gap funds for the previous financial years for power tariff hike. “Such excuses are unjustified. We have observed that 25 percent of the consumers are not paying Bills. Instead of putting more financial strains on the consumers who are paying their bills on time, the TSECL should focus on 100 percent billing. If the bills are collected efficiently, a hike in power tariff can be easily avoided,” he added.

According to the MYT petition, the TSECL has proposed a 100 percent hike for the fixed charges. Noteworthy here, the power tariff has been previously revised in 2024 amid massive public outcry.